Something
by mjm1996
Summary: One mistake. One mistake is all it took to bring their friendship to an end. But after all they've been through, is it really over? Nine/Rose, a little fluffy. Multiple chapters. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

I wished Nine and Rose had gotten more time together and more of a story, so I wrote how I thought it might happen. BBC and the show's creators own the rights; I own nothing.

* * *

Her eyes opened. Where was she? She didn't recognize this room, hadn't even seen it until now…

"Dear God."

She meant to only think it, but it came out, clear as day, ringing loud in her own ears.

"Rose Tyler, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" she muttered. "God, I sound more and more like my mum."

As she fumbled around in the dark, still confused at how she ended up in this strange place, not even knowing whether she was still in the TARDIS – or even on planet Earth for that matter – she felt a strange, soothing presence around her. It calmed her down, and at the same time, made her face flush and her heart beat faster.

"Doctor…?" she asked into the darkness, almost a half-whisper. "Doctor!"

She felt along the walls for a light. No such luck.

"A-ha! Now I've got you!"

The lights flickered on, revealing Rose to be in a bedroom. Nicely furnished, with red walls and dark black metal furniture. A fireplace was on the wall to the right of the bed.

"Such a huge room," she thought. "But it's beautiful."

There was no window in the whole of the room, however, only adding to Rose's suspicions that she was not on Earth.

"Who would want to hide what's going on inside?" she wondered.

She looked down, and much to her surprise, she was dressed in a pair of blue pajamas she had never seen before either.

If only she could remember what had happened the night before.

"Think, Rose, think."

More importantly, where was her Doctor? Maybe he could make some sense out of all this.

She took a deep breath and opened the only door to the room. To her surprise and relief, she was in the TARDIS. Strange, she hadn't ever noticed that red room before…

She headed to the kitchen; that was one room she could definitely recognize. But, to her shock, the kitchen was much different than before; the walls were painted a solid coat of black. No light was coming in; like the other room, the kitchen suddenly had no windows anymore.

She saw the Doctor sitting at the end of a very long dining room table, the kind you only saw at large dinner parties for heads of state or celebrities. His face was buried in his hands.

"Doctor? Are you alright? What is going on? What is that strange red room…? Why does the kitchen look so different?" So many questions she had.

The Doctor didn't look up.

"Doctor! I demand you answer me right now! What is going on?"

Suddenly, the Doctor's fist came down on the table with a bang that echoed in the walls of the TARDIS.

Rose jumped. She had seen this type of fury when he was confronted with an enemy or when her life was danger, but it was never directed towards her.

"Doctor, please, just tell me," she pleaded.

"Rose Tyler, I have taken you home to present-day London. You will not be travelling with me anymore. You cannot travel with me anymore." He didn't look up once.

"No. I refuse to listen to this. I don't know what happened that got your knickers all in a wad, but I am not leav—"

"GO."

She sat down at the end of the table opposite him and just sobbed. He suddenly became sympathetic.

"Rose, I'm sorry. After what happened, I think it is of your best interest to just forget me. Forget I even exist."

"I don't even know what you're talking about!" she screamed in-between sobs.

"You honestly don't remember? That was the best night of all my 900 years and you don't remember any of it?" The hurt started to seep through and replace the anger.

"If I was a part of this supposed 'best night' then why do you want me to leave, huh?"

"Because that can never happen again. Ever. I don't want to risk it, either. All you'll do is get hurt and it will be all my fault!"

She ran over to him. She hated it when he felt any pain. She reached out to pat his head, like she always did when he was upset, but he jerked away.

"I'm sorry."

She wasn't about to give up that easily. She sat next to him and put her head gently on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him with all her strength. She felt his fingers trying to pry her arms away, but she never let go. He eventually just gave up and tried to act aloof.

Soon, she buried her face in the scruff of his neck. She got so wrapped up in the unmistakable scent of his signature leather jacket and his – more like her – favorite cologne. She breathed in, wrapping her arms even tighter around his waist than she had thought possible. But with that one breath, everything changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for the follows and the favorite! The review was very sweet, too. Thanks for all the kind words. I'd love more reviews if anyone has the time; I want to be a writer someday so it would help and mean a lot! This part of the story is where I just thought it would naturally go next. Felt right. Again, I own nothing.

* * *

Memories. All at once, rushing back into her head. She now knew exactly what the Doctor was talking about…

Hours earlier, they had both just woken up.

Rose was tired from the previous day's adventure. She felt like just relaxing.

"How about we just have fun today? No running for our lives, no saving the world," Rose had said.

"Well, that's no fun. What do you suppose we do then?" the Doctor inquired.

"First things first, I'm going back to bed. You could just surprise me for once…take me somewhere nice and peaceful and relaxing…and absolutely, 100% not dangerous! I don't feel like having the whole of humanity depend on us today."

"Alright…but no guarantees." The Doctor flashed his signature smile.

With that, Rose turned to go to her bedroom. Before she had even taken a step, the Doctor ran over to her and gave her the tiniest kiss on the forehead; before she knew it, Rose felt her heart beating out of her chest and those all too familiar butterflies in her stomach. She opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it when she realized she couldn't, for the life of her, think of anything to say. And to think, it was just a kiss on the forehead! She might not have even noticed the soft brush of his lips against her skin had she not seen it herself.

"How am I supposed to sleep now? I can barely walk or talk or even breathe…" she thought to herself.

"Sweet dreams, Rose." He gave her a quick side hug. "I promise, I'll think of something that'll be absolutely fantastic." His goofy (yet somehow alluring) grin held her in place for a few moments.

Suddenly, she realized what she was doing.

"Right. Well, off I go, then." She avoided looking at him and quickly ducked out of the room, thinking that if she had stayed any longer, she might have melted into a puddle on the floor.

* * *

"Doctor…Doctor!" Rose was moaning. "Oh, Doctor!"

She sprang up in bed immediately, sweating.

She turned the lamp on. No Doctor, no romance, nothing... It was all just a dream.

She sunk back down into bed. It had felt so, so real. Oh, how she wanted it to be real! He had kissed her lips, her neck, kissed her all over. He had held her and sang to her and kept her warm. He was her lover and protector; at least in her dreams.

"Just a kiss," she thought. "Just one kiss and I'd never need anything again."

A gentle knock was heard on her bedroom door.

Rose's eyes grew wider as she realized the Doctor could have heard exactly what had been going on.

"Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor. Come in." That puddle on the floor was sounding like a perfectly viable option at this point.

"It's three in the afternoon! I don't even think you've eaten since yesterday, have you?" He handed her a muffin.

"No, I must not have." She took the muffin and laid it on her bedside table. Everything inside her head was screaming. She couldn't even properly look him in the face without a sense of extreme embarrassment or bursts of euphoria at the sheer thought of what she had just been imagining.

"You alright?" The Doctor looked puzzled.

"Of course. Nowhere else I'd rather be." She smiled, flashing a row of perfect, straight, white teeth.

"Alright then! You'll love where I've taken you!"

Rose jumped out of bed, lively as ever. She ran to her closet and haphazardly picked out some clothes, anticipating spending some quality time with her beloved Doctor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The Doctor stopped her in her tracks. "You can't wear clothes like that out there. You'll stick out like a sore thumb. Come on, since it's a surprise, I've picked out some more period appropriate things you can try."

"So you're not telling me where we're going?"

"No chance. Not until we step outside." The Doctor smiled rather mischievously. "You'll see soon enough. Now off you go and change! We can't be late and it starts in an hour!" He nudged her forward.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Rose stepped forward, then stopped. "Just one more thing Doctor…can you ever hear me talking in my sleep?"

"No…" He looked puzzled. "But now I'm going to have to start listening!"

She laughed. "No way, ever. I'm gonna have to sleep in a hotel from now on!"

The Doctor smiled and then happened to glance down at his watch. "Rose, we _really_ gotta go now! Turns out we're almost an hour late!"

"What sort of Time Lord are you? Can't even tell time!" she teased as she ran out of the room.

"Rose Tyler!" He playfully chased after her.

* * *

When she got to the wardrobe, she noticed a whole rack the Doctor had set apart from the rest. She couldn't quite make out what era they were from; they looked normal enough yet they were definitely different from present-day fashion. On the rack, she saw a pair of bell bottoms.

"60s? 70s?" she guessed.

She put back the bell bottoms and kept browsing. She saw miniskirts, flowy tops, and tons of tie-dye. She finally settled on a long sleeved yellow dress with a black Peter Pan collar.

"Kind of short, but it'll do," she reasoned. She found some tan-colored tights that made her feel a little better. As much as she wanted the Doctor to look at her, she didn't exactly want the rest of the population being able to see her bum.

She went through the numerous shoes and picked out a pair of knee high black boots.

After fixing her hair for a bit, she stepped out of the wardrobe. "All done!" she announced.

"Blimey," the Doctor said. "You look…nice."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Rose replied. In all honesty, her heart had skipped a beat in response to his words.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Aren't you gonna change?"

"Changed my jumper."

Rose faked exasperation. "Doctor!"

He looked at his watch again. "They could be halfway done by now! We gotta go!" He ran to the door and held it open. "You're gonna love this!"

Rose stepped outside and into a music studio.

"Blimey! We're in a recording studio? What's so special about here?"

"You'll see. Trust me."

They walked slowly around the corner and were faced with a tall, slender man with long hair and a beard. Rose gasped when she realized who was standing before them.

"Who the hell are you?" the man inquired.

The Doctor quickly pulled out his psychic paper. "Sound technician," he answered matter-of-factly.

"And the girl…?" the bearded man pressed.

"My assistant."

"Funny, I didn't know sound technicians needed assistants…but she's got a nice face. S'pose she can stay. Just keep her out of the way."

"Oh, yes sir," the Doctor replied.

Rose was still grasping what was going on. "You're…you're…John Lennon."

"Is she alright?" John asked.

Rose whispered to the Doctor, "You took me to see John Lennon…"

"Oh no, not just John Lennon. All the Beatles. It's 1969, and they're recording their last album together: _Abbey Road_."

"Hey mate, no one's supposed to know that," John interjected.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry." The Doctor smiled apologetically.

John joined the rest of the band while Rose and the Doctor made themselves comfortable on the other side of the glass.

"You took me to see the Beatles!" Rose squealed with delight, still not grasping exactly what the Doctor had done for her.

"Good surprise?" the Doctor asked.

She only replied with a quick kiss to the cheek that made both their faces burn scarlet.

The Doctor cleared his throat and started pressing buttons. When he thought she wasn't looking, he looked at her beautiful face and just beamed.

She saw it out of the corner of her eye, dismissing the smile as one of satisfaction that his surprise had gone over so well.

She smiled back nonetheless, at just the beginning of the end.

* * *

Didn't want to put this at the top since it would give plot points away, but clearly I do not own the Beatles (but that would be awfully cool...). Their role is minor but if you're a fan like I am then maybe you've already worked out what they have to do with it...Hope you enjoyed! XOXO


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry this one took so long, guys. For some reason, this was much more difficult to write than the other chapters. Hopefully, that isn't reflected in my writing...Anyways, thanks for all the sweet reviews, favorites, and follows! Keep 'em coming! As always, I do not own Doctor Who and its characters, the Beatles, or any of the Beatles's lyrics. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

They listened to each song and took in the lyrics, filling their heads with different images with each new piece of music.

And with every song, there was a universal feeling both the Doctor and Rose felt but never shared with the other: love.

_Love is old, love is new._

_Love is all, love is you._

The Doctor felt every single word. He continued to press buttons and do his "job", but he did so half-heartedly. He was too focused on the beautiful girl next to him. He would steal glances at her every time he heard lyrics that reminded him of her. He practically didn't look away.

Rose did the same; their eyes hardly ever met, but when they did, they both smiled so hugely they thought they would explode into pure euphoria.

_I want you._

_I want you so bad._

_I want you._

_I want you so bad,_

_It's driving me mad,_

_It's driving me mad._

The Doctor knew it was wrong, but he simply couldn't help it. He had been alone for so long… He'd simply resigned himself to the fact that he would be alone for the rest of his life. But then Rose came along and changed him. He had been born in battle, weary and hardened. Unlovable. But she loved him anyway, whether he was aware of it or not. He was just glad to know he wasn't so alone in the world anymore; every morning when he woke up and every night when he went to sleep, he knew she was there, safe and sound. She was the one constant in his life.

Rose was aware of the changes in his demeanor as well. When they first met, she was fascinated by him. He was so mysterious, so cold, so distant. She was determined to see what was underneath the façade of his harsh leather jacket and constant frown. Her goal was to get him to lighten up a little, to enjoy life again.

So, as the months wore on, he had let himself go a bit. He suddenly knew how to laugh and play. His 900 years were no longer showing anymore; the tired, damaged old man of the past was gone.

Still, every now and then, when she looked into his pale blue-gray eyes, she saw his former self. War, fire, loss. She saw a man who had lost everything he had ever loved and had nothing to show for it. She hoped to make him have something to look forward to, to want, to love.

He reached down and grabbed her hand. Her hands were so tiny and smooth and delicate compared to his rough, work-weary ones.

"Enjoying it?" The Doctor was always eager to please.

She smiled. "I'm sitting here watching the Beatles perform some of my favorite songs, and with my absolute favorite person in the universe, no less."

His smile matched hers. Suddenly, the music stopped.

"I just don't think it sounds right!" George exclaimed as he walked out of the recording booth, the rest of the band in tow. In his hand, he held an abused, crumpled piece of paper covered in all forms of blue and black ink.

"What's he on about?" the Doctor asked.

"His song. He can't think up the right line for the bridge," John answered.

"Lemme see." The Doctor ran over to George's side. He grabbed the piece of paper.

"'Something'! One of my favorite songs!" The Doctor grinned.

The band looked at him strangely.

"I mean, it sounds good. Like a hit. Now, about this bridge." The Doctor took a pen out and jotted in lyrics in the empty spots on the piece of paper.

"There you go! Trust me, people'll love it."

George snatched the paper out of the Doctor's hand. His face immediately went from skeptical to hopeful.

"Hey, this isn't half bad! We could give it a try."

The band made their way back to the booth. George took the Doctor aside.

"Listen, mate, I wrote that song for my wife..."

"Your secret's safe with me," the Doctor interjected.

"Good. Listen, how'd you come up with those lyrics so fast?"

"Sound technician, remember?" The Doctor looked playful.

"Whatever you say.… But, at any rate, thank you."

The Doctor gave a reassuring smile as George made his way back to the booth.

The Doctor sat back down next to Rose.

"Look at you! My little songwriter!" Rose teased.

"Just told them what they have already written," the Doctor said matter-of-factly, trying to sound impressive.

They listened to the rest of the album, lost in daydreams they never fully wanted to get out of.

* * *

As the recording session came to a close, the Doctor and Rose said their goodbyes to the band and thanked them for such a wonderful evening. In return, they were given a rough copy of _Abbey Road_ on vinyl.

While they made their way back into the TARDIS, the Doctor looked at Rose curiously.

"What do you want to do now, then?"

Rose thought for a minute. "We could listen to that record."

"You sure? We just spent six hours listening to it." He looked puzzled.

"Well, you could dance with me," Rose offered. Any opportunity to get closer to her Doctor.

"Can't say no to that." He smirked playfully. The Doctor quickly looked for an old phonograph while Rose pulled out a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses from the kitchen. They drank the bottle of wine while the phonograph warmed up.

As soon as he got the record playing, he offered his hand. Rose happily accepted and they started dancing. By the end of the third song, they had gotten very comfortable. They had moved closer and closer with each song, and they had stop moving around the room. They just stood and moved their feet in one little square, the kind of dancing you saw high school sweethearts doing at the prom or a bride and groom doing at their wedding. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck; his hands got lower on her waist. Eventually, there was no space between them, and Rose rested her head calmly on the Doctor's chest. She could hear both of his hearts beating out of his chest.

"I make you nervous, do I?" she asked, the wine having made her bolder than usual.

He hesitated. "Well…yes," he said finally.

She smiled against his chest. The record got to "Something", a song Rose hadn't been too familiar with.

_Something in the way she moves_

_Attracts me like no other lover._

_Something in the way she woos me._

She was beginning to get caught up in the romantic lyrics. She remembered that the Doctor had said "Something" was one of his favorite songs. She wondered if it reminded him of her.

"Why do you love this song so much?" she whispered.

"Reminds me of someone," he replied.

"Anybody I know?"

He titled her chin up very gently and looked her in the eyes as if to point out the obvious. With that, she grabbed his face and kissed him. Just a couple of soft, gentle pecks at first. Then, the pecks turned into one long, passionate, unbroken kiss. She felt the Doctor's hands on her hips as she threw her arms around his neck.

Suddenly, he stopped. Rose was expecting protest, but much to her unexpected surprise and delight, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. This time he initiated the kiss; it was hard, sweet, and deep. She hadn't even noticed they had transitioned into a beautiful red room, complete with a roaring fire. He laid her down softly on the bed. She looked up at him, half-wondering what had gotten into him and the other half not caring. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him on top of her and continued their kiss. After a minute, he pulled away.

"Is this alright…?" he asked.

She answered with another kiss. One by one, they began to shed articles of clothing. When they were both fully undressed, they both stopped and looked in each other's eyes. Almost simultaneously, they both looked the other up and down. Realizing what they'd done, they both let out nervous laughter while Rose did her best not to blush.

They locked eyes again. She had never seen his light blue eyes so full of fire and passion. She wondered what was going on in his mind. He seemed to answer her when he started kissing her neck lovingly.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

She was too caught up in the moment to even consider responding. He moved further down, kissing and sucking her breasts. Her breathing was becoming ragged.

She once again pulled him in to kiss her. The kisses become more desperate, more pleading.

"Doctor," Rose managed to choke out.

"Hmmm?" he whispered.

"Please. Now."

He didn't hesitate. Once he was inside her, he went back to kissing her neck and breasts. She kissed his head, his face, his shoulders, anything she could reach. Eventually, their lips finally met again in a passionate, frenzied kiss between moans.

After they broke the kiss, he stared into her eyes with a look of love and adoration. Save for a few kisses, they never took their eyes off each other.

Once they had finished, the Doctor collapsed back onto the bed. Rose promptly laid her head on his chest and listened to his two hearts thudding against his chest, perfectly in sync. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed all over his neck, shoulders, and chest.

"I love you, Doctor," she breathed into the scruff of his neck.

He smiled. "My Rose." He gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. "Good night."

He held her tight as she got comfortable. She dozed off quickly, her head full of images of her handsome Doctor, imagining her future with him.

* * *

"Doctor?" She awoke with a fright.

She frantically searched the bed for him. She felt all over, but he was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, she heard a calming voice. "Shh, shh, Rose. I'm just putting the fireplace out. I'll be back in a minute, I promise."

She laid back down, vowing not to go to sleep until he was back. She did anyway.

* * *

So we finally see what happened! (Although face it, we all secretly knew/hoped that would be it.) But, this is only the beginning. Much more to come about how they sort this out, what happens afterwards, etc. Hope you keep reading! I'd love some more feedback if you can! XOXO


	4. Chapter 4

Since I took so long with that last one, I went ahead with the next chapter! As always, thanks for the incredible feedback this story has received. It means the world. :) In this chapter, we see a completely new side of the Doctor...I added some humor in the beginning to lighten things up just a bit...but you'll have to read to find out what the hell I'm talking about, so off you go. :) As usual, I own nothing. Also, be sure to catch that BBC reference. ;)

* * *

Rose snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry, Doctor, it just took me a minute…"

"I think its best that you leave now." She could see the pain in his eyes.

"Doctor. Please, no. No." She teared up once more. "I – I love you."

He looked torn. He hated to see his Rose in pain, but he couldn't let their relationship continue in its present state.

"You knew it would end someday…"

"No, I didn't!" Rose cried. "Least not like this."

"There are things that you don't know about me. Things you couldn't even begin to comprehend. I'm not the man you think I am. I don't go around writing Beatles songs and drinking wine and being in love!" His voice was rising.

"You're saying you don't love me then? Then what was last night? Or am I just one of many girls you bring into space hoping for a quickie?" Her sadness turned into anger as she got up and stormed off. The Doctor knew he had made a mistake.

"Wait, Rose! I didn't mean that! Rose!" he yelled as he chased after her.

He found her in her room, frantically packing her bags.

"You want me gone? I'm gone!" she announced. "Now I know why that room had no windows. You were ashamed of yourself, you sick old man!"

"Rose, if you'll just let me explain myself…" he stepped closer but she pushed him away.

"What's there to explain? You brought me into space, got me exactly where you wanted me, romancing me and stuff with the Beatles and the dancing and the "You're so beautiful"! Then, you got what you wanted and now you're sending me on my way with some lame excuse about hurting me so you can go looking for a brand new conquest. My God, my mum was right about you!"

"Rose, I think that's enough now. You're all worked up…"

"Can't handle the truth, can you? As soon as I—"

"Alright, Rose Tyler. You asked for it," he said calmly, stepping closer and closer.

"Asked for what? Gonna use your stupid screwdriver to wire my mouth—"

He grabbed her face and passionately kissed her on the lips. Her arms went up in protest, but as the kiss deepened, she instead wrapped her arms around his neck and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in closer as he moved his arms down to her waist and held her tight. When the kiss had ended, she stared at him with her mouth open for a moment. The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat him to it.

"—shut. Shut up!" She gave him a good, clean slap across the face.

"Oi! What was that for? One minute you're kissing me, the next you're slapping me…I coulda used some warning!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the side of his face. "Slaps like her mother…" he muttered.

"You kissed me, remember?" she said, mockingly sounding out the last word.

"I heard no complaints, now did I? How else was I going to get you to be quiet for a second? I need to explain…"

"Well, I really don't feel like listening to you right now! I just want to get my things and leave."

"Rose, you have to listen to me! I intended for us to just have a friendship, really, but things got out of hand…" He shook his head.

"I'm sure you did. Now if you'll excuse me…" She grabbed her bags and headed for the door.

The Doctor shook his head and swallowed the lump in his throat. She was halfway to the main door of the TARDIS when the Doctor came chasing after her.

"Rose Tyler, I am in love with you. Very much so. Please don't leave." He held his breath.

She dropped her bags on the TARDIS floor and turned around.

"Please, Rose. We can figure something out." She knew how hard it must have been for him to talk about his feelings; up until then, she had wondered if he even had feelings. But standing there, waiting for her to reply, he looked scared and alone.

She smiled as she ran towards him and practically jumped into his arms. She was immediately greeted by a barrage of kisses all over her face and lips. She could feel the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

"I love you too, Doctor," she whispered, holding him tight against her. She looked up into his eyes. Both were captivated by the other's stare. In the silence, you could hear three heart beats, one right after the other.

"Doctor…" Rose seemed hesitant. "There's this thing we have on Earth. It's called makeup—"

Without a word, he scooped her up and took her back to the bedroom, where they lost all sense of time.

* * *

The Doctor was out of breath. "I'm 900 years old, me. You're trying to kill me," he managed to get out between pants.

Rose laughed as she and the Doctor both struggled for breath.

"Now I see why you called me old…"

"Oh, you know I didn't mean it!" she playfully hit his shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not letting those hands near me after you slapped me like that…"

"Funny, you didn't seem to have a problem earlier..." Rose trailed off suggestively.

He looked half-serious. "It did hurt." He rubbed the side of his face once again.

"How do you think I feel? I could cut myself slapping that face! Nearly did. But for good measure…" She leaned over and kissed the affected cheek gently.

"So I take it you're no longer angry with me, then?" The Doctor seemed hopeful.

"I'm still waiting for some sort of an explanation."

He swallowed hard. "You know I love you, Rose. You've always known. You know this was never just a friendship to me, but I was going to try to keep it that way for you."

"Never really was a friendship for me, either." They both smiled.

"Last night…was wonderful. But, you know, it's only gonna end up with one of us hurt. I stay young, but you're getting older and older by the second…What am I supposed to do when…?"

"That's a long time coming, Doctor," Rose reassured him, though she hated the thought of her aging as much as he did.

He took a deep breath, then continued, a little choked up.

"I lost my entire family. Before the Time War, I was a son, a brother, a husband, a father. Now, I am none of those things. And the worst part is, they might all still be alive if it wasn't for me."

She patted his head. "I'm sure there was nothing you could do, Doctor."

"But don't you get it? There was something for me to do, and I did it, and now everyone's dead." He stared off into space.

"This is what I meant. You don't really know me, you don't know the things I'm capable of. I killed my entire planet. My family. My children…I ended the Time War with a delta wave. Very powerful, very dangerous. It wiped out everyone and everything in sight. Nearly killed me. That's how I ended up with this daft old face." He tried to smile, but Rose only saw tears.

"It was either let my people die as martyrs or let them become slaves to the Daleks. At least they died with some dignity…" He buried his face in her chest, and finally let it out.

Eventually, he looked up at her. "I…I can't lose you," he stammered.

"Then, you won't. We'll figure something out. If I have to turn into a trampoline like Cassandra just to stay with you for as long as you live, then I'll do it. There has to be something that can be done. With all the cutting edge medical technology in the future, who knows…"

"Rose. You know that can't happen. I refuse to let you be like that. Longevity isn't everything, trust me."

He continued, slowly gaining his composure. "I want you to have a long, healthy life. But if you stay with me, you know how it is going to end up."

Rose sighed. "I know."

"Don't you want somebody who can give you more? A house, a car, children?" His voice cracked on the last word.

"None of that matters. What matters is who I'm with, and I'm choosing to be with you, for the rest of my life."

She paused. "Will you be okay when I…?"

"No. But can't say I'm not used to it. When you're this old, everybody eventually leaves." He put his head on her chest again, thinking.

She, too, lay deep in thought.

He eventually broke the silence. "Their names were Jenny and Thomas."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"My children. She was 14, he was 10. So incredibly smart, both of 'em."

"Took after you." She tried to smile.

"Yeah. Yeah." He laughed. "We used to play in the backyard, read together, laugh."

"You really miss 'em."

"'Course I do. They were beautiful."

Rose desperately wanted to ask…

"She was nice, my wife." He could always read her mind. "But marriages on Gallifrey were different than on Earth. You married just to have children, keep the population up."

The look on his face indicated he didn't want to talk about it anymore. She nodded.

"I'm sorry for making you tell me all this. You didn't have to…"

"But I wanted to, Rose. Feels nice to tell somebody. But, just keep in mind, if we are going to do this, you'll have to be patient with me. I haven't ever been this close to anyone. It's hard sometimes. There's so much I want to say but I'm afraid if I do, you'll think I'm a monster."

Rose looked down at him adoringly. "Doctor, I think you're many things, but a monster is not one of them."

In that moment, he couldn't believe that, in spite of everything he had just told her, she still loved him. No one had ever offered that type of unconditional love and acceptance to him before.

"Sometimes, I think I would give up everything to be with you. To be the kind of person you need. The kind you could grow old with." He sighed.

"Still, you're the one I want." She kissed the top of his head. "Good night, Doctor. I love you."

"I love you too, Rose Tyler." For the first night in his new body, he slept peacefully.

* * *

So, we learned more about the Doctor than ever before. I like him not being so secretive all the time...nice to see a little emotion here and there! I think it helps to make Nine more relatable and we can now sorta understand why he is like he is and how far his character has come. But, like I said earlier, this is just the beginning! I have so much planned for this story, including some very shocking and important decisions that Nine and Rose have to make about their future together. Hope you enjoyed! XOXO


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there! I went a little mad with my writing today. This is the longest chapter so far. It takes place several months after the previous chapter. It is a little cheesy/fluffy, funny, and kind of sexy. We keep seeing new sides of this Doctor! We get to see him in the throes of love! But don't worry, as we see at the beginning of this chapter, he is still very much his same sassy self...Hopefully, you'll laugh, be surprised, get turned on (although I'd rather not know about that :P) and maybe, just maybe, explode from all the adorableness of Nine and Rose. But really, don't explode. Exploding is bad. Per status quo, I own nothing.

* * *

He breathed in deeply as he gently rapped on the door. One, two, three times.

He heard a turning of the locks and sighed. He knew, somehow, in some way, he was going to regret this.

"Doctor?" Jackie Tyler asked, a hint of shock in her voice. "Didn't know you made house calls."

She shooed him in, closing the door shut behind him. He stood in the hallway, not quite sure what to do.

"Do you want something to eat?" she called from the kitchen.

"No. Thanks." The Doctor tried his best to smile as he walked towards her. She looked him up and down.

"So, what happened? Did you and my daughter have a domestic?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "I knew it! Have a bit of an anger problem, don't you?" He tried to speak once more, but she kept going. "I can tell! You better not have touched my daughter!" She poked him hard in the ribs with a wooden spoon.

"Jackie." He paused. "This is why I don't do families," he thought to himself.

She looked up at him, eyes wide, urging him to continue. She kept the spoon nearby, expecting that she'd need it again.

"Jackie," he tried again. "You know I love your daughter…"

"Oh, trust me, I know! That's all she can talk about! The Doctor bought me flowers, the Doctor saved the world, the Doctor has a nice bum! Makes me sick, it does." She poked – more like attacked – him with the spoon once again.

"Jackie, I want to—"

"Want to what? Make her an alien like you? Not going to happen. Not on my watch!" She began looking around for something more heavy-duty than the spoon.

"Jackie, I want to..." He looked up at her standing in front of him with her new weapon of choice: a cheese grater.

"Now you try telling me what you want to do with my daughter!" She held the cheese grater up threateningly.

He rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket pocket. There, he found a small, black velvet box. He put the box in Jackie's hand and exhaled. "Open it."

Jackie did as she was told and opened the box. She gasped. Set inside the box was a stunningly beautiful sapphire ring; the round cut sapphire was surrounded by a halo of small white stones, set on a never-ending band of diamonds.

"You want to marry my daughter?" She put the cheese grater down. "You came to ask my permission to marry my daughter?" She looked more puzzled than usual. Slowly, a smile came over her face. "Why didn't you just say so?" She laughed and gave him a hug. "Better than you two shacking up in that box, I suppose. So many things to plan. I've got to call Maureen!" She grabbed the Doctor's face and gave him a kiss directly on the lips. "Now I can see what she's always going on about," Jackie mumbled to herself as she went for the phone.

The Doctor stood there, shocked that he didn't have to put up more of a struggle. "You're sure you're okay with this?"

"Shhh. I've got the caterer on the phone. Hello? Yes, I'm thinking I need catering for about two hundred in June…Mhmmmm. I know! My daughter! Only twenty years old! I think we'll take the chicken…" She put the phone to her chest. "What do Martians eat?" she asked.

"Jackie, do you mind if I speak to them?"

She handed him the phone, shrugging. "Alright, but you better not tell them that you're from—"

She heard the phone being slammed back down on the hook.

"Oi! What did you do that for? I coulda gotten us a discount! Their chef owes me a favor!"

"Jackie." He put her hands on his shoulders and got eye level with her. "You seem to have forgotten. I haven't even asked Rose yet! Besides, if she says yes, I want her to have it the way she wants it."

"Boy, you're a tough one." She sighed. "Mickey was much simpler." She thought for a minute.

"But do you really care about my daughter?"

"Yes. More than anything," he replied.

"And you've kept your word about keeping her safe so far."

He nodded.

"So, you're telling me you're willing to keep her safe for the rest of your life?"

"Yes. Rose's safety is my number one priority," he ensured her.

"But what are people going to say? You're so much older than her. Old enough to be her father at least!"

"Yes, and then some." The Doctor laughed.

"What are you? 40, 45? Don't say you're 50!" She covered her mouth in shock.

"900," the Doctor said calmly. "But physically, I'd say about 40. You thought I was 50!" He shook his head.

"But you'll eventually get there. I don't know how spaceman years work, but in 10 years, you'll be 50 and my Rose will be 30!"

"Jackie. That's the other thing. Our marriage is not going to be a typical marriage. As long as I am in this body, I will stay this age. I won't grow any older. Only Rose will." He looked down.

"Does she know about this?"

"Yes. And I offered to just end our relationship right then and there so she could find someone she could grow old with, have children with, even live in a house with, but she refused."

"I don't know that this is best for her," Jackie admitted. A long silence ensued.

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor. She looked at him sympathetically.

"But you do keep her safe. She must really love you, you know. If she is willing to give up everything just to be with you…You should really hear her. Every time she visits, it's all about you. Where you've taken her, what you've done, the things you say. You treat her well. It makes her happy. As long as you promise to keep treating her this way, then you have my blessing." She smiled. "Really."

The Doctor's face lit up. For once in his life, he ran over to Jackie Tyler and gave her a hug. He got a kiss on the cheek in return.

"Thank you, Jackie. I won't let you down," he said as he headed towards the door.

"I expect her to call me later about this!"

He nodded as he headed back to the TARDIS.

* * *

When he arrived, he smelled a sugary sweet scent emanating throughout the TARDIS. He placed his jacket, with its contents, in their closet, hoping Rose didn't have a reason to touch it. A few minutes later, he found her in the kitchen. She had been grocery shopping while he was gone.

She still hadn't noticed him come in. Deciding to be suave, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and began kissing her neck. She jumped five feet in the air.

"You gave me a fright!" she exclaimed as she hit him with a spatula.

"The Tyler women," he muttered to himself.

"I just got done baking. Want to try it?" She held out a cookie.

He gladly obliged, and took one bite. He immediately wolfed down the rest as he reached for another.

"I take it that was good, then?" Rose laughed. "I think someone has gained at least ten pounds since I started cooking for him."

He swallowed another bit of cookie. "Your cooking's good." He shrugged. "But even though I don't get older, I can get fat…" He thought for a minute, then looked down at his stomach.

"Doctor!" Rose chuckled. She slyly wrapped her arms around his neck. "If it helps, I still think you're incredibly fit," she whispered seductively.

"You do, then?"

She started kissing his neck. "Mhmmm. Very, very sexy," she breathed, punctuating each word.

He closed his eyes as her kisses moved to his collarbone. He noticed her small, capable hands tugging at his shirt and he helped to pull it over his head. He felt her lips moving down from his chest down to his stomach, leaving a trail of sticky, wet kisses. As she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, he sighed. He immediately stepped out of his pants and underwear and almost instantly, Rose had him in her mouth, licking and sucking every inch of him. He groaned and put his hands on the back of her head, pushing him further into her mouth.

He let out a moan. "Rose. Oh, Rose." His breathing became more and more uneven as her actions became quicker and more frenzied. Suddenly, he stopped her and brought her back up to his level.

"I have to kiss you," he practically begged.

Rose indulged him happily, as he led her to the kitchen table and gently pushed her down onto it. He began to work on the buttons to her blouse, kissing every piece of exposed flesh. Soon, Rose was laying on the kitchen table completely naked, the Doctor kneeling over her. He began to reciprocate her actions earlier; he kissed her from head to toe and back again. By the time he was done, Rose was out of breath.

"Do you want to call it quits?" the Doctor asked, feigning innocence, knowing full well what the answer would be. Rose just pulled him further in, where he lost himself.

* * *

She awoke in their bed, her head on his chest. She noticed he had the lamp on, and she looked up to see him propped up in bed, reading.

"I didn't wake you, did I? You need your rest." He went to turn the light out.

"Nah. I'm fine, really." Rose stretched. She wrapped her arms back around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. They had gone from the kitchen to the living room to the bedroom, making love every inch of the way. She smiled at the thought. She looked into those beautiful blue eyes of his; his sexy stare and hooded eyelids had always captivated her. Her mother had called them "bedroom eyes" once. No longer were they filled with bad memories of the past, but rather love, and at the right moment, desire.

"What do you feel like doing tonight, then?" he asked, his voice a strange tone.

"Hmmmm. I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Guess not." He went back to reading.

She never liked it when he acted this way. As much as she hated to admit it, she always became a little upset when his attention wasn't always on her. He didn't even bother to glance down at her! He always had her interest, but it didn't always seem the other way round to her.

"Guess I'm just going to shower, then."

"Alright." He didn't look up once.

She had hoped her getting up and walking across the room stark naked would provide a distraction from his reading material, but to no avail. She went into the bathroom, slightly huffed. She turned on the shower, waiting outside for it to warm up.

"Any second now," the Doctor thought. Suddenly, he heard a scream.

"Doctor!"

He grinned. She ran back into the room, clad in only a towel. "Doctor?"

"Hmmmm?" He once again seemed disinterested.

"Doctor!" She knocked the book out of his hand. He smiled up at her.

She showed him the ring, resting on her left ring finger. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Depends on what your answer is."

She kissed him fervently. "Do you even have to ask?"

"So, that's a yes? A yes?" His smile lit up his entire face.

"Yes, it's a yes!" She hugged him as he pulled her back into bed with him.

She lay, listening to his hearts beat as he stroked her hair, beaming.

"Glad I can finally make an honest man out of ya." She laughed quietly to herself. "I'm just curious. When we get married, what will my last name be? 'Doctor'?"

He laughed at the thought. "We'll think of something."

"But at the wedding, will it be 'I take thee, the Doctor'"? What will I introduce you to all my friends as? I can hear my mate Shereen now. 'THE Doctor! Sounds like a porno name. Like he'll fix you right up.'" She nearly fell off the side of the bed.

"Funny." He sounded unimpressed, but he couldn't help but laugh a little at her jokes. "Can we at least say I'm a doctor? I want people to have some idea of my brilliance, even though I'm not sure if 'Doctor' can really begin to cover it…"

"Whatever helps your ego." She hit him playfully.

"Now you've done it!" he warned her, with an artificial look of sternness. "Just because we're getting married doesn't mean I'll lay up on you, missy." With that, he put his hands near her sides.

Rose laughed, half out of breath. "No! Anything but this!"

"You brought it on yourself!" He began to tickle her, with her laughter and feigned screams for help filling up the room. Eventually, her pleads to get him to stop succeeded, and she collapsed in his arms, faking exhaustion, but the Doctor just let her lay there as he held her close.

All he could think was how he never wanted this to end.

* * *

Well, there you have it! Wedding bells are in the air! But of course, there's always going to be some problems/complications...Can't wait to hear what you guys think! Hopefully, that sex scene was actually sexy...I wanted to make it a bit more detailed and take a more intimate look into their love life ('cause let's face it, we all secretly knew they would go at it like rabbits). Thank you for all the kind words so far! They're very encouraging! I'll update soon! XOXO


	6. Chapter 6

So I'm just gonna apologize in advance for this chapter. It's kinda all over the place (as my life for the last few days has been). I still think it'll show you more about how the Doctor has changed and how his relationship dynamic with Rose is. It's very sweet and a little fluffy. I own nothing.

* * *

He woke up next to her, as usual, with his strong arms on top of her more petite ones, hands clasped securely together. He squeezed her hands tightly, but she did not stir.

"Seven more days," he thought.

Seven more days until they would be married. To him, marriage had always seemed like a terrible inconvenience. On Gallifrey, it was expected, but it did not have to be enjoyed. Tried as he did, he had never felt that way for his first wife. He looked at her like an obligation or a demand that needed to be met. Not a lover. A friend, possibly. After he had become the last of his own kind, marriage was the furthest thought from his mind. He needed to travel, see the universe, help people, atone for his sins. Do what the Doctor did best. Marriage would just interfere with his world, however troubled it was.

When he met Rose, he thought she was beautiful. He had thought other women to be beautiful before, but she constantly kept all his attention on her. Her smile, her energy. She was so full of life, like he'd never seen before. He loved her peachy cheeks, her full lips, her big brown eyes. He loved the feeling of his hand in hers and those rare moments when she stood on tiptoe and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He loved seeing her eyes light up with wonder when she stepped on a new planet and the courage – sometimes even surpassing his own – she had shown while in danger. He loved her stubbornness and the beautifully human way she looked after he had annoyed her. Oh, he loved the tiny human he was cradling in his arms.

When she had reciprocated his feelings, he suddenly found himself a newer, better man. Even better than after Rose's friendship had changed him. He bought her flowers, took her to dinners, read to her from his favorite novels. They would spend quiet nights inside the TARDIS just watching telly, and ordering take-aways. Sometimes, she would fall asleep in his arms on the sofa after a long movie, and he would turn out all the lights, wrap her up in a blanket, and sleep right next to her, no matter where she was. On their adventures, he made sure Rose became less involved. He knew she resented him for it, but it was the only way to keep her safe. He felt that, selfish as it was, if she were to be killed, he wouldn't really care about the fate of whatever world they were on. She had become his world.

And one day, it had all just made sense to him. He had always heard in the cliché romantic-comedies Rose liked so much, that one day, you would just know. You would know the person you were with would be _the one_. He had never really believed it, but that day, he knew what he had to do. He wanted to prove himself to Rose. He wanted to show her the changes she had brought about in him. He wanted her to know that he was committed to her for the rest of his life, that there would never be anyone else that could take her place. More than anything, though, he wanted her to know she was different. Much more different – and wonderful – than any other companion he had ever had. That day had changed his life. Not that the Doctor had any doubts before, but he was absolutely certain about it on that particular day. A Tuesday. The next morning, he went to meet with Jackie Tyler.

* * *

She awoke, still next to her Doctor. She thought she had felt him moving earlier, but he was fast asleep now.

"Poor thing," she thought to herself. "He must be exhausted."

He had been spending the months before their wedding meeting her extended family and friends and arguing with Jackie to ensure Rose got the wedding she deserved. For a man who said he didn't do domestics, he was certainly becoming domestic himself. The day of their engagement, she had told him that they could have a small ceremony on whatever planet in whatever year he liked, but he insisted that Rose plan the wedding the way _she_ wanted to, not the way she thought he wanted to.

To tell the truth, it didn't matter. None of it. They could have simply gone to city hall by themselves for all she cared. She just wanted to be his wife; who cared about ceremonies and parties and traditions? He was hers and she was his, and they were about to become husband and wife. Did anything else in the entire universe matter?

Unfortunately, it did. At least to her mother, and to the Doctor. Every time Rose suggested the wedding be small and simple, her mother thought of twenty more people to add to the guest list and the Doctor would practically scold her for not doing what he thought she wanted. It took almost a year to convince both of them to step away from the wedding planning. By the time another six months was up, they were finally getting married. A March wedding. It had been almost three years exactly since they had first met. She was getting married at 22 years old.

Her husband's name would be John Smith, a pediatrician from Manchester. He had no family and lived alone. The holes in the story were obvious, but thankfully, as the Doctor put it, "Humans do not see what's not there."John Smith had attended every major event in the Tyler family without a word of complaint. He had even served as best man in Mickey's wedding to a girl from London, another doctor, Martha Jones. John Smith was gladly returning the favor.

Still, even if he did not complain, she knew how he felt. She could tell he was exhausted by the numerous questions her relatives had – "How did you meet?"; "How long have you been together?"; "How old are you?"; "Are you sure she wasn't one of your patients?" He got numerous pinches on the cheek and sloppy kisses from grandmothers and aunts; once or twice, he had even gotten a good, firm slap on the bum by some of Rose's more risqué relatives. The Tyler family had gladly accepted him, but she could tell he was going mad. Once, at Christmas, she had found him alone, holding a small baby in his arms, thanking the child for its inability to talk.

All the same, she did love showing her handsome Doctor off. All her female relatives, young and old, had told her how charming her fiancé was, and she couldn't agree more. Since the engagement, he had stopped wearing his cropped military haircut and let his hair grow out a bit. There were even days when he forgot to shave – not that she minded. She found the dark stubble on his face to be quite sexy, although she still fondly remembered the way he looked when they first met as well. Either way, she loved her Doctor. She had never before seen a man who was actually, truly beautiful. When she looked at him, she saw gorgeous deep-set blue-gray eyes, high cheekbones, and full, pouty lips. He was tall and thin yet muscular, and if their time in ancient Rome was any indication, several statues of gods were modeled after him.

While she was lost deep in thought, she felt a series of small kisses on her cheek and lips. The Doctor had woken up and was smiling. "Seven days," he reminded her.

"Seven days." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"What is the temperature of your feet?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

After she understood the question, Rose responded quickly: "On fire. You?"

"On fire." He stated it as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, like two plus two equaling four.

She laughed a little. "Do you really think I'd leave you at the altar?"

"You never know. Could decide it's too much for you." Again, he appeared to be serious-minded.

"Doctor."

"Remember, you are giving up a normal life. I can never give you children, a house, a car. I can never grow old with you. Definitely not a stable life."

"I don't care," she announced sternly. "None of that would matter if it wasn't with you."

He lightened up a bit. "You're prepared to stand up in front of the world and marry this face? Sounds like you're getting a bum deal." He half-laughed.

She gently stroked his cheek. "I love that face, and whatever comes with it."

"Well, this face loves you too." He kissed her cheek and closed his eyes as she started rubbing his head.

"Doctor?" Rose asked once she was finished. "Why don't you sit up?"

He didn't question her, although he was confused by her actions. Slowly, he understood what she was trying to do as she positioned herself between his back and the headboard of their bed.

"You're gonna rub my back?"

"Problem?" she posed as she started rubbing his shoulders.

"I don't think I've ever gotten a back massage…"

"Well, then you need it!" She leaned forward, planting tiny kisses on his shoulder blades.

She could hear him starting to object, but she put a finger to his lips. After she had finished, he turned around and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Thank you." He paused. "Since you did that for me, how about I do something for you? I was thinking breakfast in bed?"

She knew he wouldn't take no for an answer, so she silently nodded. As he turned and left the room, she called after him. "Don't tear up my kitchen!"

"Yeah, yeah," she heard from the hall.

As much as she wanted to be with him, she needed some alone time. While she had been rubbing the Doctor's back, she had been thinking. Planning ahead. She now had the perfect surprise for the Doctor...

* * *

Sorry to end on a cliffhanger like that, but let's be honest: it's more fun that way! I can promise what is coming will probably be literally the sweetest/most romantic gift ever. The Doctor is constantly changing and growing because of Rose and it's starting to show more than ever (literally). Oh, I love me some good symbolism! As always, thanks for the marvelous reviews. You guys made my week ten thousand times better. Also, if you have time, part of the reason my week was kinda not good was the fact that my best friend lost someone close to her, and I'd appreciate it if you like said a prayer or sent some good vibes towards her. It would mean a lot! I should have the next chapter up by Monday night at the latest. Hope you enjoyed! XOXO


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the wait! It's still technically Monday night, right? We'll say it is...This chapter is super fluffy and sweet and I honestly think Rose's surprise for the Doctor is one of the most romantic things my teenage girl brain can think of (and trust me, I can think of a lot). Captain Jack does appear, but in my story world, the battle at the game station obviously didn't happen, and Jack just left sometime later amicably. Thanks for all the kind words! Keep those reviews coming! Hope you enjoy! I own nothing, of course.

* * *

Jack Harkness looked down at his ringing cell phone and smiled.

He thought nothing of Rose Tyler calling him six days before her and the Doctor's wedding. He – who somehow had become an ordained minister – was going to officiate the ceremony. He and the happy couple had grown so close in their short travels together that Rose and the Doctor wanted him to be a part of it in some way, especially considering that their other friends they had met in time and space might incite a riot if they attended the ceremony.

"So…" he answered. "Finally decided to accept my invitation for me to join you and the Doctor in the horizontal mambo, huh?" He laughed.

Rose was not amused. "Jack, I only have a limited time to talk with you. He thinks I'm in the shower."

"If you want it to be just us, I don't think it'll help your relationship by hiding it from the Doctor…It's best just to tell him. Hell, he can even watch!" Jack grinned from the other side of the line.

Rose tensed the muscles in her neck. Now she remembered why she preferred living with the Doctor alone.

"Jack. Never. No. I just need a favor…" She paused. "I need you to meet us in London a few days early. I'm planning on taking a trip."

"Right before your wedding? This sounds like an adventure in the making…Where to?"

"The beginning of the universe…" She could feel Jack's skepticism. "If we wanna get technical, the Big Bang." She sounded like a kid trying to convince her parents to buy her something she didn't really want or need.

"Rose! I'm all for danger, but if we go to the Big Bang, we'll get burnt alive or hit by a big chunk of a planet flying around, and I'd really like to see you guys actually make it to your wedding day…"

"I know, I know. But listen, I spent all of last night doing my research. There was a certain point during the Big Bang, right at the beginning, where it wasn't dangerous at all. No hot temperatures, no flying bits of planet…"

"So, you want to go to the Big Bang and possibly risk our lives just for one last adventure before you're one-half of an old married couple? Haven't you ever heard of a bachelorette party, Rose?"

"Fine, Jack, I'll tell you what I'm thinking of doing, but if you tell the Doctor…" she threatened. The silence on the other end of the line urged her to keep going. As quietly as she could, she whispered her plans into the receiver.

"Rose…I didn't know you loved him that much." He thought about it for a minute. "We can try to get there at that exact time…How long did this safe period last?"

"About an hour." She sounded worried.

"Alright. If you need me, then I'm in. At least if we all die, it'll be in the name of love," he said, somewhat sarcastically.

Her face lit up. "Alright, meet me Tuesday night, street corner by my mother's. 11 P.M. sharp. Bring an overnight bag." She could hear him start to speak. "You'll be staying in a separate bedroom," she growled.

"Alright, alright, just trying to have a little fun."

"One more thing, I need you to pick up something for me…"

She again whispered into the receiver, as Jack nodded in understanding from the other line.

"Got it. See you then!"

Rose promptly hung up. She had several more phone calls to make if this was going to go right.

"Rose?" She heard a knock at the bathroom door. "Rose? I thought you were getting a shower?"

"I am, Doctor!" She frantically turned the shower on. "Shit!" she exclaimed to herself.

"Were you talking to someone? Rose?"

"Just a minute, Doctor!"

"I think I'm going to come in there if that's alright?"

"Wait!"

She ran to the door and opened it, fully naked. "You were saying?"

"I mean…never mind." He stood in the doorway, a little shocked yet excited. "I think I'll just…" He turned to go.

"Doctor!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the bathroom with her, yanking his clothes off and pushing him into the shower in one swift motion.

"Now! What did you want to talk about?" she asked as she practically jumped into the shower.

His only answer came in a kiss.

* * *

The Doctor became increasingly suspicious of Rose's actions in the days before their wedding. She was always making mysterious phone calls, running off to meet friends the Doctor had never heard of. She once even left their bedroom in the middle of the night to go "get some air", only returning three hours later.

They were getting married on a Sunday, and by Tuesday night, the Doctor sat Rose down at the kitchen table.

"Rose Tyler, we agreed there were to be no secrets between us, correct?" He sounded painfully serious.

"Yes, Doctor." She already knew what was coming.

"You have been acting very strangely lately." He looked her in the eyes. "Any reason?"

"Nope. None at all. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She got up to leave the room.

She was halfway gone when she heard an extremely frustrated Doctor call out. "Rose."

"Doctor?" She tried to act innocently, but clearly her one semester in theater class was not paying off.

"Please sit back down. I'm just going to ask you honestly. Is there something I should know about?"

"No."

"Okay. I didn't want to have to ask this, but it seems I have no choice. Is there _somebody_ I should know about?" He glared at her.

Not even his intense stare could keep her from bursting into laughter. "Doctor!" she managed to get out between hoots.

"I don't think this is funny. I know exactly what this is. You're not ready; you want to sow all your wild oats."

"Doctor. Doctor. I promise I can explain!" Her laughter had mostly stopped, but a giggle came out every once in a while.

"I'm waiting…"

"Well, I can explain it to you later…" she clarified.

"Rose! Now I'm starting to get angry!" He looked alarmingly mad.

"Doctor." They had never fought before, and were not about to. "Doctor, I promise, there is nobody else. I don't even think I've ever looked at another man…I promise, I'll explain later, but for right now, it's best you just don't know. It's wedding stuff."

His look cooled a little. "You promise?"

"Yes, I promise. You thought there was somebody else!" She hit his shoulder.

"I have a feeling that part is going to come back and haunt me later, isn't it?" He laughed.

"I'll let it slide. Besides, you look so sexy when you're angry…" She gave him a suggestive look as she sat down in his lap.

"I thought we were gonna cool it till the honeymoon, but alright, if you insist…" He smiled at her as he leaned in to touch his lips to hers.

* * *

"Doctor?" He felt a hand shaking him awake.

He shot up and stared at the clock. What time was it? 6? No, 9. Definitely 9.

"Rose. I'm tired." He lay back down in bed.

"No, Doctor, you really need to get ready." She tried to lift him out of bed.

"What for?" He thought a minute. "Oh, no! Is that today? The wedding? I'm late to my own wedding?!" He sprang out of bed and frantically searched the room for something to wear.

"Doctor!" She handed him a white button down shirt and some jeans.

"I can't get married in that!" He practically ripped apart the closet.

"Doctor! Today isn't our wedding day. But I do have a surprise for you. So off you go." She shoved the clothes into his hands. "I'm gonna go finish getting ready now."

"I don't know if I like this. I'm not one for surprises…" he began.

"Shift!"

He looked alarmed. He didn't know Rose could yell like that.

She gave him a kiss to calm his nerves. "Trust me, it's very special, but we only have a limited time."

He did as he was told as Rose left the room. When he had finished getting dressed, he felt the whole TARDIS shake. He immediately ran towards the main room. "Rose! You don't know how to fly the TARDIS yet! We were working on it but–"

He stopped in his tracks. There, in the main room of the TARDIS, surrounding by stringed white lights and white candles, Captain Jack Harkness was manning the controls, with Mickey Smith and Martha looking on.

"Oh. Hello!" He waved and smiled. "Now, Jack, my TARDIS! How'd you even get in here?"

"Rose let me in." He shrugged. "Women just usually tend to give me what I want."

"Funny. Now step away from the controls!" He shoved Jack out of the way. He noticed the date.

"Are you on some kind of death mission? Why in the world would you fly the TARDIS directly into the Big Bang?" the Doctor fumed.

"Ask her." Jack nodded towards the doorway where Rose stood, clad in a white sundress.

"You look beautiful!" the Doctor commented. "Now, would you mind telling me why you're trying to kill me?"

Rose stepped forward. "No one is going to die. For now, we're in the safe zone. No activity here for…" She gazed towards Jack.

"At least an hour, and with the force field, that gives us about two," he announced proudly.

"Alright...Care to explain?" He looked to Rose.

"The Big Bang was about 13 billion years before the present we live in. Correct?"

The Doctor nodded, thinking it to be a frivolous question.

"So, I began thinking." She stepped closer and closer to him. "I thought, 'How could I really show the Doctor how I feel about him?' Marrying you doesn't even begin to explain all my feelings for you. So, since I've loved you from the moment I met you, maybe, if you want, we could be husband and wife, for, I don't know, 13 billion years, since the beginning of all time? Technically." She flashed a toothy grin at him as she took his arm. "What do you say?"

"Do you even have to ask?" He hugged her with all his might. "But what about Sunday?"

"That's another thing. This is just small for us, but my family wants to see it on Sunday…So, basically, do you love me enough to marry me twice?" She smiled.

"Gladly." He took her hand as she led him to where the others were standing.

Martha was in position to serve as maid of honor with Mickey to her right as best man. Jack was in the middle, looking dapper in a suit and tie.

"So, we're ready?" he asked as the couple made their way to the "altar" and stood facing opposite each other, holding hands.

"Before we begin, Doctor, I need you to sign something." The Doctor looked confused.

Mickey handed the Doctor a pen and two marriage certificates, one from England and the other, oddly enough, from the Shadow Proclamation.

"Didn't know they did marriages…" the Doctor said as he hastily signed each document.

He handed them back to Mickey, promptly grabbing his bride's hands once more.

"Now, we can officially begin. When I first met the Doctor and Rose, I'm going to be honest, I felt I had a special connection with Rose."

Mickey added in, "I think you feel that way about everyone, mate."

"Fair enough," Jack continued. "But, when I saw her and the Doctor together for the first time, I realized that not even this" – he motioned towards himself – "could come between those two. You could feel the love between them. They didn't even really know it yet, but it was plain as day. The looks, the hand-holding, the hugs. They constantly risked their lives for one another. They were – and still are – like two kids in love. I don't know of anything that they wouldn't do for each other. I think they were literally made for each other, so it makes me proud to be the man that will marry these two. Twice," he added. "I think Rose has prepared some vows?"

She nodded as the Doctor's eyes grew wide with panic. He wasn't prepared for this part. Apparently, Rose wasn't too prepared either, as she didn't even have her vows written.

"I'll just improvise," he thought.

"Doctor," she began. "From the moment we met, I was instantly attracted to you. I thought you were incredibly funny and handsome and interesting. Didn't hurt that you saved my life." She laughed, then continued. "But you really did save me. You were right. If I hadn't met you, I would just be getting up, going to work, coming home, watching telly, and eating chips till I die. You've shown me the universe and taught me that life is so much madder – and better – than what I was doing. You've taught me to stand up for what you believe in no matter the cost and to really, truly enjoy life and appreciate it. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if we'd never met, and I'm so glad I don't have to. I always knew I was in love with you, and it didn't even matter if you even returned my feelings. I wanted you to, but I kept thinking that if I had an incredible friendship like yours for the rest of my life, then I'd be alright too. When you did return my feelings, I got the best of both. My best friend and the man I'm madly in love with. You always say I'm giving up too much to be with you and I should look somewhere else, but why would I look anywhere else when the one thing I want – and even need – is right here in front of me? I'll always hope that our time together never ends, but I know someday it will. Please, always remember, no matter what, I've loved you, literally, since the beginning of time and I always will. I'll be very proud to be the Doctor's wife, and I promise to live up to the title."

She kissed him on the cheek as he wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Doctor?" Jack prompted.

The Doctor exhaled, searching for the right words. "Rose, when I first met you, I was very angry with myself and everyone else. I figured I'd just always be alone for the rest of my life. When I first saw you, I thought you were beautiful. The more I got to know you, the more beautiful you became because I saw that you truly are beautiful inside and out. And that beauty changed me. You were so wrong, you know. I didn't save you. You saved me. I don't even want to think about what I would be like if we had never met. People have said I was like a warrior when we first met. I was very serious and confused and sad and angry and I was almost always ready for battle. But, now, I'm more of a lover." He smiled. "You gave me my humanity back. Every day when I wake up next to you, it feels like a dream. I cannot and probably will not ever know why you chose to stay with me and help me and love me, but I will always be eternally grateful. Everywhere we go from now on, I'll be the happiest man in the universe to tell anyone who'll listen that the beautiful woman next to me is my wife. I promise to make the most out of our time together. I will be with you for the rest of your life, and even after that, I'll never forget you. I'll wear my wedding ring till the day I die. No one could ever replace my Rose. Ever. I'm sure you'll be the best wife a man could ask for, and I'll always try my hardest to equal that. I love you."

He teared up a little bit as she softly whispered, "I love you, too."

Jack smiled. "Rose has requested that we hold off on rings until Sunday."

"I don't want to take mine off once it's put on," she explained. "Is that alright?"

"Of course." He was touched.

Jack continued. "So, Doctor, do you take thee, Rose?"

"I do," he announced without hesitation.

"And do you Rose, take thee…Doctor?" Jack laughed to himself at the awkwardness of his sentence.

"Of course I do." She smiled up at her Doctor.

"Well, by the power vested in me by practically the entire universe, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

He picked her up and swung her round before enveloping her in a passionate kiss that just might have stopped the Big Bang in its tracks.

* * *

So we get two weddings for the price of one! I think Rose secretly knew that the Doctor wanted something small and intimate, so she made it happen for him. Plus, the fact that she's willing to go to the beginning of time to be his wife for as long as she can shows how much she truly loves him. I will write the next wedding, but it won't be nearly as detailed. Probably just a paragraph or two since it won't have near the emotional power of this small, private one. But, then we still have so much to cover! I have the rest of the story pretty much outlined in my head, and I already know how it's going to end I think. But don't worry, we still have a good ways to go before the end, trust me! Of course we're going to hit some speed bumps in their marriage and the Doctor is going to have to make some shocking decisions. As always, thank you for reading and just being awesome! XOXO


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it's a little late, guys! Here is their (second) wedding and honeymoon. I was originally gonna make the wedding scene shorter, but it didn't seem to do it any justice. I hope you guys like it either way. Here we see them a little bit cranky (probably because I'm feeling cranky) that they haven't been alone in a while. Lots of sexual tension in this one. Also, some humor from Jackie and we see the Doctor and Rose try to out-sass each other. But still, very romantic and honeymoon-ish. The Doctor writes her a very sweet note. Enjoy. :) I own nothing.

* * *

Rose took a deep breath as she heard the traditional wedding march begin to play. She had already gotten married yet she was as nervous as she could be when she solitarily walked down the aisle.

"Breathe," she thought to herself as she walked, trying as best she could to stay in time with the music.

She could see the Doctor standing at the altar with a grin on his face. He seemed a mile away. "Just make it there, Rose." She tightened the grip on her bouquet. Being the center of attention was certainly not her idea of a good time. If her family hadn't nagged her so, she would've been fine with the small wedding that had already occurred, although that was still a secret.

Still, she smiled and nodded at each of her family members as she made her way to the altar. She and the Doctor had gotten Rose's family and friends to sit on both sides of the church in hopes that they would not notice the lack of attendees for the groom.

When she finally made it to the Doctor, she felt like collapsing in his arms. They had spent most of their time apart after the small affair that occurred that past Wednesday. After one night together, Rose went to her mother's and the Doctor stayed in the TARDIS. This was the first time in three days they had seen each other; for the last three years, they had spent every single day together, so three apart was pushing it.

"You look beautiful, as always," the Doctor noted as he kissed her forehead.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled at him, noticing that this was the first time she had seen him in a suit since knowing him. She had clearly missed out.

They once again took each other's hands and simultaneously looked to Jack as if to say "Hurry."

Jack, who was playing the role of a regular vicar instead of a longtime friend – "Less to explain," they had both said – gave a speech about love in five minutes flat. It took four minutes for the traditional vows and another for the rings. Jack did not even get out "You may now kiss the bride" before the Doctor had already scooped Rose up in a kiss. When they had finished, they both looked each other in the eyes and smiled, realizing that was the moment they both had been waiting for. They then looked out into the crowd and realized there was still an audience. Rose's face flashed bright red when Jack commented that they should "wait for the honeymoon" to the laughter of the guests.

They were introduced as "Dr. and Mrs. Smith" and almost immediately, the photographer was at work. After an exhausting round of pictures with family and the wedding party, the Doctor and Rose finally got to go back up the aisle, just the two of them, and they practically ran to the other side of the church. They figured they had a few minutes in the small, hidden corridor across from the reception hall before the guests started making their way there as well. They both smiled at each other, out of breath.

"I've missed you," Rose breathed as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I've missed you, too," he whispered in response. "Let's never do that again. I had to eat my own cooking! You'd think in my 900 years I'd know how to cook by now…"

"I just missed waking up next to you." She held him tighter.

"I know what you mean." He looked at her adoringly. "Know what I missed the most?"

She guessed as she stood on tiptoe to touch her lips to his. Before they could, however, Jackie made her way to them.

"Oi! Sneaking off at your own wedding! Your grandmother's looking for you!" she snapped at Rose.

"'Congratulations' would've worked too…" Rose mumbled. "Besides, don't we get to have some time alone before we have to make an entrance?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just at least come and let me fix your makeup. All that kissing has messed it up! And you!" She pointed her finger threateningly at the Doctor. "Trying to give me an alien grandchild before you even go on your honeymoon!"

"That's not going to happen, no matter the time. Besides, if it was gonna, would've happened already by now…" The Doctor smiled at her sarcastically.

Jackie grabbed hold of her daughter's wrist when she saw Rose smile at his joke. "You told me you were staying in separate bedrooms…it's not too late for an annulment, you know!" she started as she dragged Rose away.

Rose turned around and waved at her husband and he did the same. "Later, I promise," she mouthed as he nodded.

* * *

The reception went without a hitch. They toasted, stuffed cake in each other's mouths, and met with every single guest. By the time they got to the first dance, they were exhausted. Fittingly, the first song they danced to was the song that had begun their entire relationship. "Something."

As she had that first night, Rose laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She knew they didn't really look like they were doing all that much dancing, but she didn't care.

"I love you," she mumbled against his chest.

"I love you, too." He tilted her head up to look at her better.

"This seems familiar." She chuckled quietly to herself.

"And does this?" the Doctor asked as he leaned down to kiss her.

"I was the one who kissed you, remember?" she reminded him.

"Excuse me. I figured you'd just want to kiss your husband." He pretended to be offended.

Suddenly, the song changed. They both looked up to notice more people joining them on the dance floor.

The Doctor sighed as he saw one of Rose's aunts approaching him. "Be nice," Rose reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. "Am I ever not?"

She looked at him seriously as the old woman tapped him on the shoulder.

"Care to dance, handsome?" She offered a wrinkled hand.

"Of course!" the Doctor bellowed, much too cheerily.

"Later," he mouthed at Rose.

* * *

They finally met again after several more songs.

"When is it alright to make an exit?" Rose questioned.

"I don't know, but if one more of your elderly relatives puts their hands on my bum when we're dancing…" he began.

"Like this?" Rose did the act in question as she pulled him closer.

"Yeah, but it's sexy when you do it," he clarified.

"Is it sexy when I do this?" She leaned in to kiss him.

"Rose!" Jackie called as the Doctor growled.

"You'd think just for one minute we'd get some privacy…" he complained.

Rose ran over to her mother.

Jackie put her hands on Rose's shoulders as she looked her in the eyes. "Go."

Rose's face lit up. "Go? You mean as in 'leave'?"

Jackie nodded. "Better than you two mating – or whatever it is he calls it – on the dance floor." She shook her head. "Go. Have fun."

Rose kissed her mother on the cheek and took off.

"Call me, sweetheart!" Jackie called after her.

* * *

The Doctor kept the location of their honeymoon a secret until the moment they arrived. It was somewhere they had never been before.

He made her close her eyes as he carried her into their temporary place of residence.

"Alright, and open," he instructed as he sat her down gently.

She saw a normal-looking house furnished with even more normal-looking furniture.

"This doesn't tell me where we are…" she began.

He silently took her hand and led her to a window. She saw miles and miles of sand along a coast-line.

"So we're on Earth…" she worked out.

"No." He smiled. "Remember how I once told you about a completely empty planet with an infinite beach?"

She finally got it. "It's just the two of us? You sure?"

"Positive. The original inhabitants of this planet were allergic to water." He laughed at the irony.

She grinned as he led her to their bedroom. Inside, she saw a beautiful red room much like the one she had woken up in that strange morning in the TARDIS. Rose petals were all over the bed and white candles of varying sizes covered almost every surface in the room. Next to the bed was a bottle of champagne and two glasses, along with a note. Even their bags were already emptied and the contents placed neatly in drawers and the closet.

Rose stepped forward. "How – how did you do all this?"

"Time Lord," he announced proudly, then hesitated. "Too much?"

"No," Rose responded quickly. "It's lovely. Thank you." She grabbed him and finally got the kiss they had both been waiting for. She sat down on the bed with him following suit, never breaking the kiss.

He leaned her back against the bed and began kissing her neck fervently as they both greedily grabbed at clothes. Rose silently thanked herself for remembering to change before she left, making it easier to get out of her clothes faster.

"Doctor?" she breathed as he began kissing her lower and lower.

"Hmmmm?" He sounded busy, never once looking up.

"I wanna kiss you." With that, she grabbed him and brought him back to her level, kissing him passionately.

Soon enough, her hands moved lower on him. He groaned when she grabbed him and with one motion, she gently guided him inside her.

As fast as they had gone before, they took it surprisingly slow now. They both wanted to relish the moment. For Rose, it was safe to say it was the most romantic night of her life; for him, his only thought was joy that he had made her so happy. They wrapped their arms around each other tightly and entered into a long, ardent kiss they didn't break until they had finished.

* * *

She woke up and leaned over him groggily, checking his watch on the bedside table. Four in the morning.

He was still asleep, one arm resting gently on Rose's back as she laid her head back down on his chest and tried to go back to sleep to no avail.

It was then she remembered the note next to the bed. She stealthily got out from under him and climbed out of bed. She grabbed his white button down shirt and his boxers and dressed herself. "For somewhere that's covered in beach, it sure is freezing," she muttered.

She tiptoed to the other side of the room and grabbed the note, then poured herself a glass of champagne. She sat in a chair near the window and sipped champagne as she read it.

"Rose,

You know I'm not normally good with feelings but I just wanted to tell you something. I never meant to cause you any trouble. It kills me to think our friendship might be over because I can't control myself. What we did – what I did – is nothing more than a mistake. A bad mistake on my part, because all that's going to happen is both of us are going to end up hurt. We can't keep doing what we did last night, Rose. We can't. I can't be in a relationship. I'm never gonna have a house or a car or a steady job. It's not a stable life, and it's definitely not the one you deserve. It's just best that you leave, forget about me. A girl like you will find someone else pretty fast, and you can just forget all about me. You said you were in love with me last night but I don't know about that. You don't know everything about me, the things I've seen and done. Terrible things. You'd think I was a monster. Please, for me, go have a normal, fantastic life. But before you do, I just want you to know, that in all my 900 years, I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. Last night meant everything to me. I care for you very much. But it'll never work. What am I supposed to do when you keep getting older and I stay young? I don't know if I could deal with that. What about kids? You could have kids with me, but that wouldn't work either. This is no life for a family. So, kids are out. We couldn't get married, or even live together as a couple because you know how it's going to end. I've thought of everything I can think of to make it work, but it just can't. I've even thought of…never mind. You don't need to know about that. That'll make you think it can work. But, trust me, absolutely nothing works with me, Rose. I'm not good for you. Go find someone who is. If you really do love me, then please, do that for me. Just remember, though, in case you ever think I didn't, I do love you. I always have, and probably always will. You don't just forget about someone like Rose Tyler.

The Doctor"

She clutched the letter to her chest and sobbed. This was written the night they were first together. He had felt so guilty. He had tried to explain. All these years she had thought he was angry with her for coming on to him…She looked over at him and it only made her cry harder. Why would he give this to her?

She looked it over again and noticed another sheet of paper behind the original one; they had been stuck together.

"Rose,

You can already guess when I wrote that. I was so angry with myself for letting me get that close to you. I wanted to explain why I wanted you to leave, so I wrote that while you were asleep that night and snuck it into your coat pocket so you'd find it later. Luckily, I got to it before you.

I'm sure you're wondering what made me change my mind about all this. It was you. When I yelled at you the next morning, you cried. I'd never seen anyone cry so hard before. Then, you thought I had just taken advantage of you and I could tell how hurt you were. I realized at that moment that making you leave would never make you happy. You would always think badly of me, that I had earned your trust then abused it, and I know how much that would've hurt. I also realized that maybe I was thinking only of myself. I said that you would end up hurt by staying with me, but I was only worried about myself. I'd lost everything and couldn't watch my Rose die. I couldn't. But, I started to think that maybe, sometimes for love, the pain is worth it. I learned that maybe if you really love someone, you will give up absolutely everything for them. I would've gladly given my life for yours in a heartbeat back then (and now), but I knew that you'd live a happy life after that. When you were the one dying, I couldn't take it. The pain was unbearable. I didn't want to have to sit and watch the woman I loved die one day. When I saw how hurt you were that morning, it clicked inside my head. 900 years of life and I never got it. I'd had love for my family and children, but I'd never been in love. I realized that when you love someone so much like I do you, you'll sacrifice anything to make them happy. I realized how selfish I was being. I realized that your happiness matters way more than mine ever will. So, I begged you to stay. True, that was a little for me, but mostly for you. I didn't know if it would work, but I wanted to try for you. I wanted to see you happy above all else. That morning, you taught me what true love is, Rose, so thank you. I'm so glad you did.

Love always,

The Doctor

P.S. You're probably wondering – "Is he really unhappy?" No. That's another thing about love. Love is when someone else's happiness is your own. I've come to terms with how our relationship will end. It's alright. We're making the most of it. Besides, how could I ever be unhappy when I'm married to the most beautiful woman in the universe? We'll have an incredible life, together, Rose Tyler (or should I say Rose Smith-Tyler now?), just you wait. Thank you for everything you've given me and for making me very happy. I hope I've done the same. This is way too long for a P.S. This probably constitutes a whole different note. Oh, well. Sleep tight, Rose. I love you."

She smiled as the tears dried. She was happy to have taught him that lesson, but she was even happier that she stayed so they could teach each other many more. They'd come a long way since then.

She crossed the room to where her husband lay and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you. So much," she whispered, not caring that he probably didn't hear her. "Thank you for trying."

She settled in next to him once again, falling fast asleep.

* * *

The next few days were filled with all the clichés: long walks down the beach, picnics, getting sand in unmentionable places. They rarely took their hands off each other.

"We can stay as long as you want," the Doctor had told her.

A week into their trip, Rose was going through their things. She had never really gotten all her stuff from her mother's, just going back there or buying more whenever she needed clothes. It was a weird way of letting Jackie know she'd always be around, mainly because she had to be.

"Doctor! Why'd we only pack for a week? I've run out of things to wear. I don't even have a bathing suit!"

"Never stopped you," the Doctor grinned as he remembered many instances of the two skinny dipping.

"A little mystery wouldn't hurt! What kind of tease would I be if I just walked around naked the whole time? 'Sides, it's cold in here." She shivered.

"Well, if I knew how to fix the thermostat, I would…"

"Well, if someone wasn't so grouchy, I might forget the temperature and just wanna be naked all the time."

"Well, if my wife could keep her hands off me, I might have time to learn how to fix the thermostat, now wouldn't I?" he retorted.

"You act like you're so irresistible." She rolled her eyes.

"Can't help it. It's a gift and a curse." He looked at her feistily.

"We sound like a weird cross between newlyweds and an old married couple."

They both laughed at her joke, forgetting the tension. "Can't we at least go back to my mother's and let me get some more clothes?" Rose asked. "I'll call and make sure she won't be there," she promised.

"Alright, alright."

Rose made the call as they both stepped into the TARDIS. Jackie had gone to see her mother two hours away from home.

"We're all clear," she assured the Doctor.

They arrived and she headed off to her room, ready to grab whatever she needed. She briefly thought about getting it all, but shook it off.

"I'll always need her to be around just as much as she needs me," Rose admitted to herself.

While going through her things, Rose discovered one crucial thing she had forgotten for her honeymoon. "My pills…" She clutched a packet of birth control pills.

She counted to see how many of the active pills she had missed. She had gotten married on a Sunday, the beginning of a week of inactive pills. Today was the next Monday. She had just missed one. She quickly took two pills to make up for her mistake and stuffed the pack into her bag.

"Everything's fine, Rose. Breathe," she reminded herself.

"Everything all right in there?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," she answered.

"Well, if you don't mind…" he said as he stepped into the room, "I'd like to get out of here. More important things to do." He looked at her suggestively. "Besides, this place reminds me of your mother…"

"Alright. Just a minute." She finished packing and grabbed his hand. "Ready to go when you are."

"I never wanted to come…" he joked as she hit him on the arm playfully.

Soon, her mistake was quickly forgotten as they returned to their piece of paradise.

* * *

Alright! There is quite a bit of foreshadowing in there. The pills incident isn't going to end like you guys think it will. If she were to get pregnant, it would be later and very much unexpected. But we'll just have to wait and see! ('Course I already know. ;)) Use the foreshadowing well! It pretty much reveals the rest of this story. For those smart cookies who read closely and figure it out, please don't give it away! Although, honestly, if I were just a reader, I may have a hard time figuring it out too...but oh well! Hopefully you'll like where this is heading! I feel like there's at least a good five or ten chapters left, trust me. And again, trust me, there are always twists. Nothing is ever as it seems. :)


	9. Chapter 9

I know I haven't updated in a while, so there are three new chapters. The first two are very fluffy and playful, then it gets intense and very real, very fast. You are cautioned. But for now, enjoy this glimpse into their married life. :) I own nothing.

* * *

She laid her head against his bare chest, listening to his two hearts beating perfectly in sync.

He patted her head and gave her a quick kiss. They had been honeymooning for three weeks now and neither of them seemed to mind.

Lying there, she squinted her eyes as she saw the sleepy afternoon sun coming in through the window. She always seemed to be tired at this time of day.

"Why don't you take a nap?" the Doctor suggested.

"Nah." She smiled up at him drowsily. "I don't want to miss any time with you."

"I wouldn't go anywhere, trust me." After their first night together, she had made him promise never to leave her again when she was asleep; she hated waking up alone and admittedly, so did he.

"You better not." She lightheartedly poked him in the chest with each word.

"We've been married for three and a half weeks and you're already pushing me around," he teased.

"Can't help it you're just a big pushover." She hoped to get a rise out of him.

"Oi! Is this how verbal abuse feels?" he questioned.

"'s not abuse if it's the truth," she clarified.

"I am not a pushover." He gave her an artificial look of sternness.

"You mean you wouldn't do anything I asked you to? Purely out of love?" She looked pitiful in her fake disappointment.

"You know I would do anything for you." He picked one of her hands up and kissed it gently. "'Sides, I'm a sucker for those big brown eyes." He grinned.

"Really? I'm more of a fan of blue myself," she declared.

He smiled at her compliment. "What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon? We could go for a swim, I could make dinner…"

"I wouldn't trust you to make dinner if our lives depended on it…900 years old and you can't even fry an egg."

"I was a good cook on Gallifrey. Course, we didn't have eggs there…" he began.

"I don't wanna know," Rose interrupted. She offered a hand as she got up. "Come on, I'll make something. Don't want food poisoning on my own honeymoon."

He followed her, grabbing clothes on the way. He never did learn how to fix that thermostat.

* * *

They spent another week on their empty planet. They finally left for two reasons. First, they had run out of food, and second, they had both gotten so severely sunburnt during an afternoon nap on the beach that they couldn't touch each other without pain. They still tried, anyway.

Married life came easily to them. It was practically the same as it had been before, except that they could now introduce the other as their spouse (a habit they had honestly been doing for quite a time before the wedding), and their solid bond had only intensified as the months wore on.

For their one year anniversary, they had decided to celebrate their non-traditional relationship with traditional gifts. According to the Internet, a one year anniversary gift traditionally involved paper, so he wrote her a love letter (ten pages long, front and back, mind you), and she gave him a scrapbook filled with pictures of their first year together. Their wedding and honeymoon, Christmas, outings with friends and family, she had gotten it all.

A few months later, they got a call one morning from Mickey. He and Martha were expecting their first child in late January or early February. Rose attended the baby shower dutifully, and the Doctor and Mickey smoked cigars outside the hospital after the baby was born. A baby boy. When Rose held Michael Smith, Jr. in her arms for the first time, the Doctor could see a look of joy combined with a resolute, wistful sadness.

The next morning, Rose awoke next to her husband as usual, but she also felt a little lump at her feet. She figured she had to be dreaming, but when she went to stretch, her feet touched the lump again. She heard a muffled "Meow."

Sure enough, at the edge of the bed was a black and white kitten, no more than a few months old. Rose crawled out of bed and went to greet her little visitor.

"Hello," she whispered softly as she picked the tiny creature up. "How'd you get in here? Huh?"

She immediately went to scratch the kitten's furry little stomach, which was met with a purr of approval.

"I'm sorry, kitty, but you gotta go," she said sadly. "My husband would kill me!" How the cat had even gotten in was still quite the mystery. Rose went to open the bedroom door, her new friend in one hand. As she turned the knob, she heard the Doctor clear his throat. She immediately turned on her heels.

"Hi…I know what this looks like, but I don't even know how…" she began.

He got up and crossed the room. He picked up the small cat, giving it a gentle scratch behind the ears.

"Rose…I bought this for you. He's ours." He searched her face for a response.

She flashed her teeth at him. "I do quite like the little guy. Thank you." She kissed his forehead.

"You're welcome. I figure it's the least I can do after yesterday." He sat the cat down and opened the door for it to roam around its new home.

"Yesterday?" She looked confused.

"Rose, I'm not an idiot. I saw how you looked at that baby. But you know we can't…"

"I know. Sometimes I think it would be nice though." She stared down at the floor.

"Believe me, I've thought about it, too, but this isn't a life for a child and you know that. "

She silently nodded.

"I figured maybe having someone to take care of might cheer you up. It's not the same, but…" He seemed to be saying, "Well, I tried."

"I do like him. He's very sweet." She smiled at him. "I married you because I'm in love with you, not to have children. You know I'd do anything for you."

"Sometimes I just wish you didn't have to do all these things for me."

"But I do. And gladly," she added. "Cheer up. What are we gonna name our little guy?"

He instantly perked up. "Your choice."

"Hmmmm…Max? No, that's a dog's name. Winston? Too old. Oliver? That sounds like a good cat name," she decided.

"Oliver it is, then."

"Really, thank you." She gave him another kiss, this time on the lips.

She knew how hard he tried to make her happy.

* * *

Not shortly after, Rose groggily dragged herself into the kitchen one afternoon, where the Doctor was reading the newspaper and eating a sandwich.

"Doctor?" she managed to get out between coughs.

He immediately sprang up and felt her forehead. "Warm," he noted.

He grabbed her hands in his own. "Cold."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he only held made her hold it open while he used his screwdriver as a torch.

"Your throat and both your tonsils are swollen. Lots of drainage." He grabbed a phone.

"Doctor."

He pressed a finger to her lips, shushing her. "Hello? Yes. My wife needs a doctor's appointment. Yes, today. I don't care what time. As soon as possible. Rose Smith-Tyler. Yeah, yeah. I think she has a sinus infection. Alright. Thank you." He promptly hung up.

"Get dressed. You're going to the doctor in an hour," he announced. "Were you going to say something?"

"I was going to say, 'Doctor, I'm sick' but I suppose you got that," she said sarcastically before erupting into another coughing fit.

"Alright, first things first, I'm going to go get you some cough medicine. When I get back, I'll take you to the doctor."

With that, he was headed out the door, grabbing his coat on the way. "Drink lots of cold water!" he called over his shoulder.

She got ready like he told her to, albeit begrudgingly. She had always hated going to the doctor. Now that she was married, she especially hated going to the doctor with her Doctor. The only other time she had done it, when she had a rip-roaring case of strep throat, the Doctor had paced the waiting room nervously, occasionally stopping to tinker with models of the human anatomy, and then, he had argued so much with the doctor that they were asked to leave. After that, she made any and all doctor's appointments in secret and went alone, particularly in regards to the gynecologist.

Still, she thought it was sweet how much he worried for her. His sometimes overprotective nature showed that he cared, and truthfully, she found it all a bit sexy.

When she had gotten done getting dressed, she sat on the couch, out of breath. She took the Doctor's advice and drank cold water, all the while snuggling up in a blanket. She heard a distant meow and turned her head to see Oliver prancing over her way.

She and the cat had grown quite close these past few weeks, with Oliver sleeping at Rose's feet every night and following her into every room, even waiting for her when she got out of the shower. He was very sweet-natured and calm, and even the Doctor found him to be a nice addition to their little family, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Hey, buddy." Rose began to pet him gently as he lay down on her legs.

He meowed in response and immediately tucked himself in for a nice, quiet nap.

Rose began to drift off as well, only waking up when she felt someone gently shake her arm.

"Rose?" she heard the Doctor say.

"Mmmmm." She pulled the blanket over her eyes.

"Rose, you need to get up. You need to go to the doctor."

Her only response was a groan.

"24 years old and still acting like a teenager," the Doctor reprimanded her.

"Fine." She sounded exactly as such.

She slowly got off the couch, feeling her head spin.

"I'm tired, Doctor," she complained.

"I know, Rose, but if you want to feel better, you need to see a doctor." He got on one side of her to help her stand.

"Can't you help me? You're technically a 'doctor'," she reminded him.

"Rose, I can't write prescriptions. Come on, then." He made her put on her coat and a scarf and then practically poured cough medicine down her throat, much to her displeasure. He then slowly got her out of the TARDIS as she began to wake up.

As he began looking for a cab, she announced that she wanted to go alone.

"You can barely walk! Besides, who's gonna fill out your paperwork?" he argued.

"I can do it." She started to break free from his grasp and in doing so, stumbled and was almost hit by a passing car.

"See what I mean?" He looked at her anxiously. "How'd you get so sick anyway?" he asked as he smoothed her hair.

A cab finally arrived and took them to their destination about ten kilometers away.

As they stepped into the doctor's office, Rose asked the Doctor for a favor. "Don't embarrass me," she requested.

"How am I embarrassing?" he wanted to know.

"You pace, you play with all the models, you argue with the doctor."

"Fine. I'll just sit there this time. You won't hear a peep." He looked somewhat hurt, thinking she didn't want him to be concerned for her.

She grabbed his hand as if to tell him otherwise. He smiled at her as they shuffled up to the main desk. "Rose Smith-Tyler," he told the receptionist.

The woman at the desk made him sign in, then handed him a pile of paperwork.

"Let me do that." Rose tried grabbing the paperwork from him, but to no avail.

"I can do it. You just rest."

"Do you even know my medical history?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Yes." He began to fill in the details on the first sheet of paper.

"I'd like to see this."

In a flash, he was done, and he handed her the paperwork for her approval.

"Rose Tyler, date of birth February 3, 1986," she read silently to herself. She knew he would get all the personal information right, so she skipped down. "Wears contacts for nearsightedness, never had braces. Broke her left arm at age 7, and again at age 10. Appendicitis at age 12, family history of diabetes on her mother's side, and high cholesterol on her father's. Not on any medication, allergic to some types of grass. Moderately active. Doesn't smoke, occasional drinker. Sexually active. No STD's, never been pregnant. Last menstruation was ten days ago."

"I stand corrected," she said as he looked at her smugly. "You know my medical history practically better I do," she admitted. "Almost forgot I had no appendix."

With that, he handed the receptionist the completed paperwork and was told the doctor would see Rose any minute.

Ten minutes later, while the Doctor was struggling to sit still, a nurse poked her head out of the door on the opposite side of the room and called Rose's name. She and the Doctor both got up. Surprisingly, Rose did not object to his presence; she figured there would be no use in arguing.

"Sir?" The nurse stepped out from behind the door. "Only patients are allowed back here. You'll have to wait."

"I don't think so." He shook his head at her and smiled sarcastically.

"Sir," the nurse pressed. The Doctor took her aside while Rose buried her head in her hands.

He looked at the nurse seriously. "Listen, that is my wife. I took vows. Where she goes, I go, and no one is about to change that. No one," he emphasized.

The nurse found him to be quite intense and a bit frightening, so she reluctantly agreed. "Alright, but I'm breaking every rule letting you be back here."

The Doctor smiled as his look softened. "It'll be our secret, promise."

"Try telling that to my boss. Trying to get me fired," the nurse mumbled as she led Rose and the Doctor to a room.

"Now, I'm just going to have to do some basic things. First, there's your weight." The nurse led Rose to a scale and made her take her shoes off. Before she stepped up on the scale, she stared at the Doctor.

"John." She rarely used his "name", only doing so in public.

It took him a minute, but he finally turned around when she practically shouted "John!"

"What?" he mouthed.

"Can't you leave for one second?" She nodded her head to the scale.

"Really? What, you're afraid to let your own husband know your weight?"

She glared at him. "Oh, let me guess. A hundred pounds? Hundred and five?" he mocked her.

Her look told him he needed to leave. "Fine. I'll be out here." With that, he stepped out and closed the door.

The nurse got him when she was done taking all of Rose's vitals. She had even taken a couple vials of blood to hurry her job along.

He stepped back in and kissed Rose on the forehead.

She was not amused. "You said you wouldn't…" she began.

"Alright. I'll try to behave. I just worry about you. Honestly."

She hugged him round his waist. "I know. I'd probably do the same if you ever got sick, but I doubt that'd ever happen."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she shushed him. "Superior Time Lord biology, I know."

She pulled him closer. "I'll admit though, I do like having you around when I'm sick. You always make me feel better. Plus, I don't have to worry about making you sick when I do this." With that, she pressed her lips to his, soon becoming totally engulfed in a passionate kiss.

They stopped when they heard someone clear their throat. It was the doctor. "I'm not going to ask how you got back here." He looked at the Doctor. "Or why you're kissing a very sick woman." He looked at a sheet of paper. "Mrs. Smith-Tyler, is it?"

Rose nodded. "Hi, I'm Dr. McDonald." He extended his hand in greeting. "You must be Mrs. Smith-Tyler's husband, or at least I hope so." The Doctor nodded and half-heartedly shook the other doctor's hand.

"Well?" the Doctor asked, already impatient.

"The lab results are back." He addressed Rose. "You most definitely have a severe sinus infection. Your white blood cell count was through the roof."

"So what are you going to do?" the Doctor demanded to know.

"She's going to get a round of antibiotics and a decongestant." He once more looked to Rose. "Get plenty of rest. Take it easy the next few days. Drink plenty of fluids. 48 hours after you start taking the antibiotics, you won't be contagious anymore. Although I don't think that'll help him." He jerked his head toward the Doctor.

"I'll manage," the Doctor reassured him.

Dr. McDonald nodded, absentmindedly scribbling a prescription down. "Alright, just take this to your chemist and you should be good to go." He handed Rose a piece of paper covered in what looked like a child's handwriting.

"Thank you," Rose called as the doctor began to leave. He nodded at both Rose and the Doctor before slipping out the door.

* * *

Next chapter gets a little more serious and then the chapter after that...well. I cried writing the last chapter. You've been warned. As always, thanks for the lovely reviews from all you lovely people, and to all my friends in the UK, congratulations on your new future ruler! XOXO


	10. Chapter 10

This one is very sexually and emotionally intense (in a good way). Hope you enjoy. I own nothing.

* * *

It had been three days since her doctor's appointment, and Rose was starting to feel a little better. The Doctor made sure she didn't have to lift a finger; while she relished in all the attention, she didn't like having to stay in bed all day.

That afternoon, she had finally had enough.

"Come on, Doctor, let's go for a walk," she urged.

"No. You heard what the doctor said. You need to rest."

"Can I at least move to the couch?" she asked, rising.

He helped her to the living room, where she rested on the couch, bundled up in blankets, Oliver by her side.

"Do you need anything? Some food, some water, medicine?"

"No." She smiled. "But there's one thing. Can you stay with me?"

He nodded, grabbing a book off the coffee table to read. He settled in beside her, much to the cat's discontentment. Oliver hissed at the Doctor, jumping up on top of the couch and watching Rose for a few minutes, as if he was protecting her, before finally leaving the room.

While the Doctor was taken aback, Rose laughed and laid her head on her husband's shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. The Doctor grinned at her and began reading.

Watching her Doctor read had always been fascinating to Rose. He always furrowed his brow in concentration, reading at ninety miles a minute, with his expression constantly changing to go with the tone of whichever book he was reading. Today, it was _1984_.

"Good?" she asked.

"Very good. I've read it a few times before, but it's always good," he answered absentmindedly, not even looking up from his reading.

"Well, if it's alright with you, I think I'm going to take a quick nap."

"Alright."

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She loved his intelligence; to her, it was always very attractive, sexy even. She fell asleep thinking of her Doctor, his intense blue eyes, his smile, his thin, muscular frame…

She opened her eyes to see her husband beaming at her and softly stroking her cheek.

"Hello." She looked up at him.

"Hello," he greeted her. "Feel better?"

"Much, especially since you're here." She turned to face him. "How long was I out?"

"Three hours. You must've had some vivid dreams." He chuckled.

"What're you talking about?" She searched her brain, wondering what she had dreamt. Suddenly, her face flashed bright red.

"Oh my God." She buried her face in his chest out of embarrassment as he erupted into laughter. "No! Please don't tell me I was talking in my sleep again..."

"'Fraid so." She felt his chest vibrate with even more laughter.

"What'd I say?" She tensed, bracing herself for the worst.

"It wasn't really what you said…more what you moaned," he explained with a grin.

"Oh, no." Try as she could, she couldn't help but laugh, too.

"Oh, come on, I'm just teasing you, Rose. We've been married for almost two years now, we've been together for four and a half, and we've known each other for five. I think it's safe to say we've both thought of the other like that at some point."

"More like all the time," she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head. "So let's hear it. What was so great about this dream?"

She thought for a minute. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him in closer, kissing him.

After a few seconds, he pulled away. "Rose, you know the doctor said you need your rest."

"But I'm all rested now." She went back in for another kiss, but he jerked away.

"I don't want you to get tired again. When you get better..."

"Maybe I want to be tired again."

He looked at her with a look of disapproval. "Rose…"

"Come on, Doctor. It's not like you're going to get sick." She began taking off her clothes.

"Put that back on." He shoved her t-shirt back at her.

"Make. Me," she challenged.

"You don't want me to do that. Remember, I'm a lot stronger than you."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

With that, she got up and taunted him, slipping out of her old sweatpants and knickers all at once. "Watcha gonna do, now?" she teased, backing away from the couch.

She could tell his temper was flaring. "Rose. Come on, I promise, when you're better." He was trying to stay calm.

"No. Now or never."

"You and I both know that's not true."

"Oh, really? I could go for the rest of my life without you ever touching me again," she announced.

"We'll see how long that lasts." He grabbed another book off the coffee table, trying to remain indifferent, but his body was telling him otherwise.

Rose knew what she had to say to get him, and she did exactly that. "Trust me, it's not a big deal, Doctor. I've had better," she mocked.

With that, he got up, throwing the book down. His ego couldn't let him handle that one.

"You've had better? Really?" He made his way over to her, staring her down. Now, she was making progress.

"Sure I have." She pronounced each syllable slowly, looking him directly in the eyes.

"I'll show you 'better'," he threatened.

"Alright." She shrugged. "Just wake me up when you're done," she yawned.

"You really think you've had better?" he questioned, holding her gaze.

"You really think you're so impressive?"

"I know I am. But apparently you need to be told that."

She looked at him and waited. She could see the fire in his eyes; she didn't think she'd actually seen him so mad before, and she didn't think she had ever wanted him more.

"Do your worst," she invited.

With that, he enveloped her in a passionate kiss, greedily exploring every corner of her mouth as she happily did the same.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the kiss, and by the time she broke the kiss, gasping for air, she discovered they were both on the floor, him taking his shirt off as she reached down and helped him out of his pants.

He immediately went to her neck, gently kissing and biting her collarbone, all the while roughly grabbing her breasts.

Lying on the floor there, she completely lost track of time and herself.

* * *

"Doctor." She was panting.

"Hello!" He grinned at her, knowing full well he had proven his point.

She looked down at herself, surveying the damage. He had been extremely rough with her, more so than ever before, but not that she minded. In fact, she had been the one who had requested it.

To her surprise, she had bruises – _bruises_ – on her wrists from where he had held them down while on top of her. She also noticed she had some hickeys on her breasts. "Hadn't had one of those since secondary school," she noted to herself, "and certainly not there."

The more she looked at herself, the more bruises and scrapes she saw.

"Did I hurt you?" He looked sweetly concerned, certainly not the animal he was a few moments before.

"Not that I remember." All she could remember was how good it had all felt.

"Well, I might've been a bit rough. I usually can control myself…"

She hit him on the arm. "You mean you've been holding back on me this entire time?"

"If I didn't, people would think I beat you. Time Lords are notoriously strong," he added.

"Well, you didn't hurt me. But something like that may only be alright once in a while. Don't want my mum calling the police on you…"

"She'd love that," he joked.

"It was wonderful, though." She rolled onto her side to look at him better.

After a few moments of silence, he turned to face her and quietly asked, "Have you really had better?"

She gave him an exasperated look. "I love you, but sometimes you can be so daft. You know I was just saying that to get a rise out of you. It worked," she laughed. "That ego of yours…but trust me, you've always been the best. No competition."

"I love you too. I actually believed you for a minute there. But I proved my point," he smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. You know, you're quite sexy when you're angry…" she began.

She hadn't even finished when he interrupted her with a long, slow kiss, pulling her tightly against him.

This time, he was much more gentle and slow and romantic. The results were always the same, however, ending with him and Rose gasping for breath, with full, satisfied smiles on their faces.

He laid his head on her chest, listening to her human heart beat like a rabbit as she stroked the back of his head. He always liked listening to her heart beat; it reminded him she was real.

Rose lay there, thinking, absentmindedly twirling her plain silver wedding band round and round her finger.

"Doctor?" she whispered.

"Hmmmm?"

"How many women have you been with?"

He peered up at her, mulling over the question. They had never talked about past lovers before, admittedly because they were both so possessive of the other.

"Does it matter?" he said finally.

She shrugged, but then thought about her question some more. He could read the emotions on her face, could tell what she was thinking.

"Rose, I've been alive for nine hundred years." He hoped that would end the matter, but his wife still lay there, her look turning from thoughtfulness to worry.

"How many, really?" She braced herself for the worst.

"How many men have you been with?" He figured the question might veer her off course from her original train of thought.

"Three. Including you."

He had guessed that answer from the stories she had told him of her life before she met him, but he had prepared himself for more. Still, he felt a strange, stinging feeling of jealousy. Already feeling uncomfortable, he saw Rose was still expecting an answer.

"Rose, this is only going to make us fight."

"I'm your wife. Can't I know?"

"Fine." He thought for a minute, searching his brain. "Nine. Including you," he finally answered.

"Oh," she responded quietly. She felt just as jealous as he, perhaps even more so, and he could tell.

"Rose," he addressed her, "you're the only woman I've been with in this body. You're the only woman I'm going to be with for the rest of my life, no matter how long it is. No one could ever compare to you. Besides, you're the only woman who I've ever loved."

"You're the only man I've ever loved," she reassured him.

"Really? Do I even compare to the great Jimmy Stone?" he teased.

"Jimmy Stone doesn't even hold a candle to you."

"Queen Elizabeth doesn't hold a candle to you, either." He laughed at the memory.

"Not gonna ask." She hesitated. "Alright, I have to know, _which_ Queen Elizabeth?"

"That's a good question. It was awfully dark and I was a bit drunk…"

They both erupted into laughter. "Sounds like our first time," Rose giggled.

"That's not how I remember it. As I recall, I was pretty suave…"

"Pretty full of it, you are."

"You stuck around, didn't you?" he reminded her jokingly.

She once again looked to her wedding ring. "And now you're stuck with me." She flashed her left ring finger at him with a smile.

"No one else I'd rather be stuck with." He kissed her gently on the cheek.

They rested peacefully for a moment until Rose broke the silence once again.

"Doctor, will you still make love to me when I'm old?"

"To me, you'll always be the young, beautiful Rose I fell in love with. That answer your question?"

She nodded silently, thanking whatever deity that had brought them together. She knew the Doctor abhorred religion, and her time with him had made her question her beliefs, but still, she prayed for him every night, just in case. She sometimes asked if she could stay with her Doctor forever, knowing full well it was fruitless, whether God existed or not. But, she could dream.

"How do you feel?" the Doctor asked.

"Surprisingly better," she replied. "Face it, you're a much better doctor than old Dr. What's-His-Face."

He laughed, getting up briefly to get a cover off the couch. He wrapped her up in it, making sure she stayed warm.

She wriggled out of the blanket a little bit, enough to offer him some, which he gladly took. Any opportunity to get closer to his Rose.

Arms wrapped tightly around each other, the two closed their eyes and breathed in deeply. Rose felt her eyes get heavy once more.

"Do you mind if I sleep?"

"No. I'll be here," he assured her. "You need your rest."

"What do you do when I sleep?" Her curiosity got the best of her; she knew he didn't have to sleep for weeks at a time if he didn't want to.

He shrugged. "A lot of things. I read, write, think. Sometimes I sleep. You relax me." He paused, then continued. "I'll admit, I do watch you sleep on occasion. You always look so peaceful and happy and…beautiful. I don't believe in angels, but if there ever was one, it'd be you."

"You sure know how to lay it on thick," she joked.

"Think you'd take a compliment…but can I show you something?" he asked, as if he had had the best idea since the dawn of man.

She nodded, and he placed her hands gently on his head. Suddenly, a rush of thoughts came into her head as she saw visions of her laughing, smiling, sleeping. She immediately took her hands away. "What was that? Was that what you were thinking?" She was exhilarated.

"Yes." Before she could say it, he beat her to it. "Time Lord. We can do that, share thoughts."

"You've never done that before." She looked at him questioningly.

"We both have to be open to it. 'Sides, I knew how angry you would get if I ever tried to read your thoughts, so I never mentioned it."

"Thank you…but why now? We've been together for so long."

He studied her face. "You doubted me. You didn't believe that you were as beautiful as I said. So I showed you how I see you."

She put her hands on his face again, as if asking for permission. He obliged, letting her into his mind once again. This time, she paid closer attention to the memories. They played like a movie in his head; their first meeting, their first adventure, their first kiss. She saw that he fondly remembered the times that he had held her close after a long day or a close call, even before they were ever a couple. She saw many images of her smile and laughter, along with images she never knew he had seen. Cooking in the kitchen, falling asleep on the sofa, dancing stupidly to old records she had found. She saw he loved her even in an old ratty t-shirt and a messy bun, her usual laundry day outfit. She saw that to him, her mother was worth it. She saw his perspective during their lovemaking, during their kisses, even their wedding. She saw herself walking down the aisle as he saw her: beautiful. She saw that he thought of them growing old together, even though they never would.

With that, she let go once more. "See my point?" the Doctor asked.

She nodded, unable to speak, her eyes full of tears. She had tried not to cry, but she really couldn't help it.

"Rose?" He was bewildered.

She didn't answer, only instead placing his hands on her head, much to his surprise.

He saw Rose thought of him the same way he did her. He saw that when they first met, it had been love at first sight for her as well. He saw that long before they were a couple, she lived for him to hug her and sometimes feigned tiredness for him to hold her. He saw what he had never seen before: the looks of admiration, the long, romantic glances, the disappointment she felt when she thought he did not feel the same. He saw the joy she felt when he finally kissed her. He saw the way she looked at him when he wasn't looking. He saw that she dreamed of him often, even when he was next to her. He saw that she did appreciate his overprotective nature and that she always tried so hard to be a good wife. He saw that she didn't care that they would never have a normal life, and that she was ready to give up her life for his at any moment's notice. He saw how she always looked up at him in adoration, gladly following wherever he went. He saw that she did pray for him, no matter how silly he thought it, and that the only thing she wanted more than him was to be with him forever.

He slowly removed his hands from her head, whispering, "You can't do that to me, making me cry," as his eyes filled up with tears.

From then on, they were as close as ever.

* * *

Very sweet, I think. I noticed I hadn't included the telepathy thing yet, so I figured I'd throw it in there. The sex is a little rough, but they're married. It's not always romantic and sweet, but it always very sexy. ;) Thank you for reading. Prepare the tissues...Next chapter will hit you like a ton of bricks. Hardest thing I've ever wrote. Hopefully, you won't hate me too much for it. But, away we go...XOXO


	11. Chapter 11

Here it is. Very intense and very real. This may be a romance story, but I want to portray it realistically, and it's not always perfect. You'll see what I mean. This is where I saw it going. We see the Doctor have to make a choice (one of many that will come). May whatever deity you believe in have mercy on your soul. Again, I own nothing.

* * *

Married life continued quite normally for the pair. They ate at Jackie's every Sunday – much to the Doctor's chagrin – and continued their adventures, saving the universe in some fashion on an almost daily basis. They celebrated their two year anniversary with a trip back in time to 1920's Venice, where they stuffed themselves on Italian food and took romantic gondola rides. He had gotten her a beautiful diamond necklace as a present and she got him a Rolex – "Something to help the Time Lord be on time," she had written in the card – and neither questioned where the other had gotten such nice gifts.

By mid-April, Rose was exhausted. She frequently made excuses to avoid going on any adventures, and much to her displeasure, she had gained quite a bit of weight.

Back in February, when she had gone to the doctor, her weight had been a solid 125 pounds as it always had. But two and a half months later, she noticed she had gained twenty pounds.

She weighed herself every morning, questioning why the number on the scale never changed despite her efforts to diet. Finally, one morning, she asked the Doctor to weigh himself.

"185," he read as he stepped off the scale. "It's not broken."

"Then I'm really going to have to step it up," she announced. "I'm gonna weigh as much as you if I don't change something." Her brow furrowed with worry.

The Doctor had noticed that Rose had been eating more and more often, but he didn't say anything. He thought she still looked wonderful, despite her insistence that she was slowly going to become a blonde Santa Claus.

"I think you look fine." He put his hands on her shoulders. "But if you're so worried, we'll go running, you and me, how about it?"

"Alright. I've got to buy healthier food, too. My mother says this happens to women as they get older, but I'm only 24. What's next? Gray hair?" With that, she started inspecting her appearance in the bathroom mirror closely, silently pointing out every flaw.

The Doctor went to leave, refusing to watch his wife pick herself apart. "Just remember, Rose," he called as he made his way out the door, "I'll always think you're beautiful. Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, you're married to this. Standing next to me will make anyone look better," he laughed.

She chuckled a little, but as soon as he left, she went back to the scale, obsessing over the number. She wondered if the Doctor's words were true. Would he really always think she was beautiful? Even when she looked old enough to be his grandmother? She shuddered at the thought and put it out of her head. Best not to think about _that_.

But, she just didn't understand. She had always tried to look good, but especially so when she met the Doctor. She always ate right, exercised. She kept her nails done, her hair dyed, she dressed nicely. She had tried so hard, but it didn't look like it was making any difference as of late.

"Just try harder," she reminded herself. "It's not so bad. You'll run it off."

The next morning, after a healthy breakfast, they dressed in running clothes and took off.

They had planned to jog a good five kilometers, a task the Doctor thought was easy enough.

As he ran further and further, however, he noticed Rose was far behind. He stopped, waiting on her to catch up. "Tired already?" he teased as she finally caught him, wheezing. "I'm 900 years old, but more importantly, I look 40 _and_ I can outrun my gorgeous young wife." He looked rather impressed with himself as Rose finally got enough energy to smack him.

"Just you wait, old man," she hissed. "This is war. I'm going to be running circles around you in a week or two."

"Bring it on," the Doctor challenged, beginning to jog again, deliberately going slower to keep an eye on Rose.

Within two weeks, she was running faster than him; at least, when he was pretending to run slower.

"Told you so," she called as she ran past the Doctor, who was going painfully slow.

That day, at Jackie's, the two sat down for Sunday dinner when Rose mentioned her accomplishment. "I've lost three pounds," she announced.

"That's great." Jackie looked over at the Doctor, who nodded at her to play along.

After dinner, Jackie made the Doctor come into the kitchen under the guise of him helping her with the dishes. "Rose will _totally_ believe this," he whispered to Jackie.

Jackie shushed him. "Did you see how much she has been eating?"

The Doctor silently nodded.

"And she's gained weight. Is she always tired? Irritable?"

The Doctor again nodded in agreement.

"Not seeing a pattern here, Doctor?" She put her hands on his shoulders and looked at him seriously.

He looked confused at her question.

"Think."

He thought alright, and next thing he knew, he was on the floor.

* * *

He came to about twenty minutes later, with a concerned Rose standing over him. He gasped for breath as she tried to calm him down, but her own face was riddled with panic and worry.

"Doctor, breathe," she reminded him.

His breathing slowly became normal as he heard Jackie's voice in the background.

"Rose? It's ready," she called.

He noticed Rose take a deep breath before she slowly walked into the next room. He leaned up, his head spinning, only worsened by two simultaneous screams, one of joy and the other of pure horror.

He fell back down onto the couch as Jackie rushed into the room. "You're gonna be a father!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him as a silent Rose looked on.

The whole world seemed to be going in slow motion as he tried to process his thoughts. He had Jackie screaming incomprehensible words in his ear as Rose began to cry.

"How…could…this…happen?" he heard Rose get out between sobs.

"Well, I think you and him know how it happened." Jackie laughed.

"But I didn't miss a pill!" Rose started to hyperventilate.

"You sure?" Jackie looked at her daughter. "Did you take anything to mess it up? An antibiotic? Weren't you sick not too long ago?"

Rose buried her head in her hands as she realized that must've been it.

"I don't see what you're so upset about. Your figure will come back. Mostly," Jackie shrugged.

"Just calm down, Rose. What's there to be upset about? Will my grandchild be born green?"

"There isn't going to be a grandchild," Rose cried.

"What do you mean? Rose?" Jackie grabbed her arm, but Rose ran out in tears.

"You're a big help!" Jackie slapped the Doctor. With that, he jolted back into consciousness. He grabbed Jackie.

"Rose. Is. Pregnant? You sure?" he questioned her.

"Took three tests. All positive." She paused. "What did she mean, 'There isn't going to be a grandchild'?"

"I've got to go after her." He stood up, grabbing his jacket.

"Doctor! What did she mean? You don't hurt my grandchild!" she called after him as he left, slamming the door.

"Oi, always so dramatic those two."

* * *

He found her in the TARDIS, curled up on the couch, crying into its arm. The TARDIS was trying to soothe Rose with relaxing music, but to no avail.

"Rose?" He sat down next to her gently.

She lifted her head up to look at him. "You get away from me. Now," she demanded.

He scooted to the other side of the couch. "Rose," he tried again.

This time, she stood up, walking over to him. He sighed in relief. "Now, Rose," he began.

Before he could finish his thought, he felt a fist coming towards his face. He thankfully blocked it before it could connect. "Rose!"

He stood up, trying to talk to her, but she just kept backing away.

"Rose, just let me talk to you," he pressed.

"No. I already know what you're going to say," she threateningly poked him in the middle of the chest. "I would leave you before I let you hurt my child. I would die," she added.

"Rose." He couldn't help but guffaw a bit at her ridiculousness. The thought of him hurting a child – their child, no less – was laughable.

"You sick bastard! This is funny, is it? Well, how funny is this?" With that, she slapped him clean across the face. He rubbed the side of his face, noting that he'd never been slapped twice in a day before. He soon got serious again, however.

"Rose." He grabbed ahold of her wrists, refusing to let go, though she struggled to get loose from his grip. "Look me in the eyes. I am a man who had a hard time killing my own worst enemy. Do you think I could ever hurt my own child, ever?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Jenny and Thomas?" she mocked.

He instantly let go of her wrists. "That was too far. Get out." He rubbed his eyes and looked down in frustration. "Get out. Get out. Forget your stuff, just leave." Doing something he never thought he would do, he slipped his wedding band off his finger and firmly planted it in her hand. He was being overdramatic, but he just wanted – or needed, rather – some alone time to calm down.

"Doctor." She began to cry harder. "I love you. I'm so sorry."

"I don't care. If you're 'so sorry', then why'd you say it in the first place?" An apology was normally all it took, but he genuinely wanted to know why she had been so careless in regards to his feelings; maybe then he could cool off.

She knew she had no answer, though. She had pushed him too far this time.

"I would never hurt our child, ever. I want to be there for it, but I'm not so sure about you anymore." He shook his head in disappointment.

"You're putting me out on the street? Pregnant?" she questioned.

"Not on the street. You have family, friends. You obviously care more about their feelings than mine." He escorted her to the door. "Stay with Jackie, Mickey and Martha, Jimmy Stone. I honestly don't care." He knew it was a lie, but he couldn't let her know that. He was so blinded by anger and hurt that he wanted her to feel how he felt, no matter how selfish it was.

She stood in front of the door to the TARDIS, her feet planted firmly on the ground. "I'm not moving."

"It's my house. You have no rights."

"Fine. But you're going to regret this," Rose threatened. "You've always said it yourself – until you met me, you didn't care about anything, whether you lived or died or were alone, none of it mattered."

"Well, I can't live with someone who doesn't care about me, either," he retorted.

"Doctor, you know that's not true. I was just upset and confused and angry. Think about what you're doing," she pleaded.

"You didn't think. You never do. From the beginning our relationship started, you've always gone over the deep end over the smallest things. You take after your mother." He knew how much that would hurt, hoping it had hurt her as much as her words had hurt him.

"Doctor. We can work it out." She stepped over to him, placing his hands on her head so she could see what she was thinking. Reluctantly, he did so.

Her thoughts were full of pain and hurt. No longer was the Doctor her idyllic mate. He looked more like the villain here. He had broken her heart the moment he took his wedding band off. He could see her raising a child alone, scared and vulnerable, knowing both Rose and their child would blame him. He saw himself only being around once in a while, practically missing his child grow up. He saw how truly scared she was at the thought of motherhood; he realized she had genuinely thought he was going to make her get rid of their child. He could also see her hormones were raging out of control, and her thoughts made it very clear she was truly sorry. She acknowledged that she was immature and young and impulsive, but she was learning, just like him.

He placed her hands on his head, communicating his hurt and anger. He showed her something she had never seen before, that no one had ever seen before. He showed his previous incarnation playing happily with his two children; he showed her the war, all the fire and death. He could see Rose trying to squirm free from his grip, but he held her tighter in place. She saw the destruction the Last Great Time War had caused, all the damage and lives lost. Men, women, and children. He had seen it all. He showed her his previous incarnation kissing his two children goodbye, promising to return, knowing full well he would never see them again. She saw the war spiraling out of control as both sides became more and more bloodthirsty. She saw him creating the machine that ended it all, closing his eyes as he watched his planet go up in flames. She saw him reincarnate into the man standing before her, born a soldier, sad and alone. His thoughts kept returning to his children and fire and death.

"Stop. Please stop." She couldn't handle the images anymore.

He let go. "That's exactly what you brought back into my head and I'm never going to forget it."

"I'm just going to leave now." Rose's voice was shaky; she was obviously traumatized by what she had just seen.

"Wait." He placed her hands on his head one more time.

"No." She backed away, reliving the horror she had just seen.

He motioned for her to come forward, and she did so reluctantly. He placed his hands on her head, instantly taking back her memory of the last twenty minutes. He caught her as she fell into a deep sleep. "No one should ever have to see that," he reasoned.

He saw that his wedding ring had fallen on the floor, and he picked it up and gently put it back on. She had said she was sorry, and that's all that mattered.

* * *

She woke up twelve hours later, the Doctor by her side as usual.

"What happened?"

"You were so excited about the baby that you fell asleep." He smiled.

"Oh, yeah." She struggled to remember. "I had the craziest dream. I was so paranoid that you were gonna make me get rid of the baby. I think I slapped you." She burst into laughter. "I can't believe I even dreamt that the sweetest, most gentle man I know would ever do anything to harm me or our baby."

The Doctor swallowed guiltily at her words, unable to respond. He felt like one of the monsters he had shown Rose only hours earlier.

She patted her stomach and smiled nevertheless. "You sure about this?"

He nodded. "I always said this wasn't the life for a baby, but we're going to have to plan our lives around the baby. He – or she – isn't going to have to plan around us. We'll work it out," he assured her.

"I'll work it out," he thought to himself. "Gotta make it up somehow." He shivered at the thought.

Rose was too busy thinking about the new life she was carrying inside her; she couldn't help but imagine what the baby would be like or look like or even talk like. She placed her hands on her stomach once more, her face lighting up. "Doctor?"

"Hmmm?" He looked over at her, happy to see his wife happy again, a marked change from earlier.

She silently placed his hands on her stomach and he couldn't believe it. He could see his developing child's thoughts.

He saw the child already loved him and Rose so much. Its head was filled with both their voices and the innocent, loving thoughts only a child could have.

The Doctor shuddered to think of earlier, but the baby soothed him. It was their secret. No use in hurting Mummy. All was already forgiven.

* * *

First serious fight. What Rose said was uncalled for. And that was the point. When we're in relationships, we say stupid things to make the other mad, and sometimes, it just works. And boy, did this work. But, please don't blame Rose. She obviously has no memory of it, and to be fair, 1). She's pregnant, 2). She's pregnant with a Time Lord child, no less, 3). She honestly thought he was going to make her give up/get rid of their child, and 4). She's PREGNANT. I've written Rose to be impulsive and a little immature at times, because that's how she is in the show honestly. It's not bad, but sometimes, it can get her into trouble. (Think "Father's Day.") She's going to grow, but she has to start somewhere. Still, we get so caught up in the romance, we forget they're a real couple and they have real problems and they're flawed. I wanted to show that. Some of you may not understand all my writer's decisions, but I thought this humanized both of them and made them more real. And it showed that while the Doctor used to be very ruthless, he has mercy on Rose and takes back her memories of their fight and the Time War, something very human and caring to do. He doesn't want anyone to suffer like he did. He's come a long way. Btw, in the fight with Rose, he was bluffing. He would never put her out. Ever. Sorry for such a long author's note...please stick with me though! We'll have some happy chapters next I assure. I just did this to prove a point. XOXO


	12. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Hey guys,**

**Okay, first off, I just want to say how sorry I am that it's taken me like a month to update! I got caught up in so many different things with school and work that I kind of got off track with my story…Just know that I never forgot about you guys! I have 4 new chapters for you to read! And I also updated chapter 11 (their big fight). I took some of the criticism I got and hopefully changed that chapter for the better… I was wrong about the weight gain, it was too soon, but I kept it because it set up a major point in the story and because it's a Time Lord baby, so who knows how they develop anyways? :P That criticism did help though, as it made me research more things about pregnancy and delivery so the story would be a bit more accurate. I've never had a child before, so I definitely needed the help. But most notably in that chapter, I did change it to where the Doctor was not going to abandon the baby. Whoever said that was rotten was pretty darn right. I wrote that chapter when I was half-awake (and also thinking about some fights I've had with ex-boyfriends over the years) and I may have made the Doctor come across a little too harshly. I also tried to make it a little clearer that the Doctor was bluffing when he was trying to make Rose leave. As much as I defended Rose there, remember she is kind of to blame too. It's really 50/50. They both said things they shouldn't have and while Rose was pregnant, remember she knows what to say to press the Doctor's buttons (i.e., chapter 10). They're both not totally innocent by all means. But what matters is that they made up and they're having a baby (who, *SPOILER*, we are going to get to meet :)****). The next few chapters are very fluffy and sweet and lighter than chapter 11. They detail Rose's pregnancy every few months and yes, we even get a birth! The Doctor is going to try hard to make it up to Rose, not only with words and romantic gifts but with actions. She doesn't remember, but that doesn't matter. He really makes an effort to be a better husband (which he was a pretty good husband already, so now he's like super-hubby). He really takes care of Rose (and their child) these next few chapters. A lot of the chapters and some of the Doctor's thoughts and actions are foreshadowing something big. The climax of the story. He is thinking of doing something shocking for his family…Hope I didn't give too much of that away…Either way, I hope you guys enjoy! I also hope that you guys will like the baby name. I wanted something unusual and something that actually meant something. Either way, you'll see. :) I won't have my usual notes with each chapter because they're all a bit self-explanatory plus I figure after reading this long note (which if you're still reading, thank you!) you'll probably want less me and more story. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and please keep the reviews coming! They really helped me last time, so thank you so much. And to the guest who always leaves such beautifully detailed reviews, I personally thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love all reviews, but yours really make my day. I may be a little bad about keeping up with the story (again) for the next few weeks because school is starting back Monday and I'm going to have to start applying to colleges and for scholarships and do pretty much a lot of boring stuff. But, I will write whenever I can, I promise! Again, sorry for such a long wait (hopefully it will be worth it?) and thanks for everything, especially for hanging in there! Hope you guys enjoy! XOXO**


	13. Chapter 12

"Doctor!" Rose gagged. This was the third time this morning that she had gotten sick. "Doctor!"

He rushed into the bathroom, finding Rose kneeled over the toilet, vomiting between words.

"Oh, Rose." He immediately did his usual duty; he held her hair back with one hand while getting out her toothbrush and some toothpaste with the other. He'd been practicing.

She was four months pregnant and miserable. When she wasn't throwing up, she was exhausted, constantly hungry, always emotional. She had developed quite a temper lately and she rarely stopped herself. Usually by the time she realized that she had become angry over nothing, she was in tears. One minute, she hated the Doctor for getting her pregnant, threatening never to let him touch her again; the next, she was all over him, she couldn't get enough of his touch. He took it all in stride, however, reminding himself that for one, he owed her hugely no matter if she knew it or not, and two, the end result – their beautiful child – would all be worth it in the end.

So, he was constantly fussing about her, making sure she was comfortable, waiting on her hand and foot. Most of their travel was to Rose's doctor's appointments in the year five billion, the height of universal medical achievements and care. They both had agreed to nothing but the very best for their baby.

With a few exceptions, however, they usually stayed parked in the TARDIS, much too close to Jackie's for the Doctor's comfort. Rose was constantly dragging him over there so she and Jackie could gush over the baby and discuss swollen feet and stretch marks. The medical talk didn't bother the Doctor at all, but he knew (almost always correctly) that Rose and Jackie would argue, and argue they did. Jackie would comment that Rose looked "healthy" and "strong" and Rose would somehow interpret her words into "fat" and burst into tears. Other times, Jackie would get onto Rose for constantly running the Doctor ragged – a defense that actually surprised everyone – but more often than not, Jackie would catch Rose wildly trying to kiss the Doctor on her couch while her back was turned. Once, she had even caught Rose trying to take off her clothes for a quickie while she had stepped out to get the mail. Each time, the Doctor looked bewildered, quite uncomfortable, and just a little excited.

When Rose was confronted about her behavior, she would just simply reply, "I'm pregnant. I'm hormonal. I want my husband. Besides, isn't he just?" She would then always stroke his face before jumping on him again.

After her morning sickness (which frankly had been at all times of the day and night), Rose put her hands on her stomach and sighed. "Do you always have to make Mummy so sick?" she asked, leaning against the bathroom wall, the Doctor smoothing her hair.

She sensed somewhat of an apology, but she knew neither one of them could help it. This was just another part of becoming a mother.

"The midwife said it'll get better when you get later into your pregnancy," he reminded her. "We go billions of years into the future and there's still no cure for morning sickness," he thought to himself. He hated to see his wife so sick all the time, and he couldn't help but feel responsible.

"Doctor?" Rose looked up at him weakly. "After I brush my teeth and get cleaned up, I think I'm gonna go to my mother's."

"Alright, but remember, she is only trying to help you and make you feel better."

"I know." She hesitated. "Will you walk me over there?"

"Of course." No matter what, he would have never let her walk alone, especially not now.

She got ready and they headed out the door, hand in hand.

Rose looked down at her swollen fingers and smiled a bit. She had been so upset at the thought of removing her wedding band when her fingers became too big for it, but before she ever had to, she received a lovely gift from the Doctor – an eternity band, silver, with never-ending diamonds going round and round; it was also, thankfully, much larger than her original ring to accommodate her ever-swelling fingers. On the inside of the ring, engraved in neat script was one single word that had completely terrified the jeweler when the Doctor asked for it: "Run."

He had been very romantic these past few weeks; he had gotten her a gift for every month of her pregnancy – first, it was a romantic trip to their honeymoon spot, a "babymoon" they had called it. Then, he took her to see the royal wedding – months before the engagement was even announced. "The King and Queen of Luxembourg" had schmoozed with the newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Cambridge until the early morning hours; they even had a picture with the newlyweds hanging in their living room.

For the third month, it was the ring. He had yet to get her anything for the fourth month, but it was not over yet. Either way, this was his way of making up for their fight, although she still had no clue it had ever occurred. Rose did not seem to notice his change of behavior too much because to her, he had always seemed romantic; any changes she did notice she just chalked up to excitement over their new baby.

When they arrived at Jackie's, Rose could smell food. "Is that chicken, Mum?" she called as she entered using her old keys.

They could hear Jackie babbling away on the phone. She hadn't even noticed she had guests until she saw Rose plop down on the couch and turn on the telly.

"I've got to go, Bryn. My daughter and son-in-law are here! I know! She's just glowing! I knew my son-in-law would eventually be good for something!"

"Oi! How about saving the universe almost daily? I'm good for that!" The Doctor looked offended as Rose patted his hand and giggled.

Jackie held the phone against her chest. "Watch it, you Martian!"

"I. Am. Not. From. Mars!" he announced through clenched teeth.

"It's all in the same galaxy." Jackie rolled her eyes as the Doctor shook his head. "Got to go, Bryn. These two are about to drive me mad!" She promptly hung up and looked the both of them over. Rose looked healthy and radiant, her skin glowing and her body rested. The Doctor, on the other hand, was quite disheveled. He had neglected to get a proper haircut or shave for quite a long time and it was starting to show. His eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles underneath them from lack of sleep. Besides that, he had ignored his usual outfit for a hoodie on top of a plain white t-shirt and some raggedy jeans.

"Oi! Look at you! Coming into my house looking like a homeless person!" Jackie scolded.

No one could really understand what was being said underneath the Doctor's loud snores. He was fast asleep, his head on Rose's shoulder, mouth open, snoring so the whole Powell Estate could hear.

Rose held his hand and whispered to Jackie, "Leave him be. Can't you see? My poor baby is tired." She protectively grabbed him and pulled him closer to her when Jackie tried to move towards them.

"I was just trying to cover him!" Jackie complained as she laid a quilt on the sleeping Doctor. "What'd you do to the poor man?"

"He's been taking care of me," she smiled over at him. "And doing a good job of it, too," she added as she stroked his hair.

Thirty minutes later, Rose had a plate full of food and was struggling to balance it and the Doctor. He was still fast asleep and Rose had refused to leave his side even to eat. Jackie brought the food to her, but soon, Rose's tune was changing.

"Can't you move him?" she whined. "He's heavy and I want to eat. It's his fault he's so tired anyway. Shouldn't have seduced me." She shook her head, seeming to have forgotten that she had been the one to come onto the Doctor.

"I'd like to see him try to seduce anyone," Jackie laughed. "And maybe if you let the man rest a little bit then he wouldn't be asleep right now!"

"He doesn't mind."

"Ask him in five months if he minds."

"Should be about seven more months. Time Lord baby," Rose reminded her mother. "They cook for eleven months instead of nine."

"Make my grandchild sound like a turkey, you do."

"Feels like one." Rose patted her stomach with her free hand, balancing the plate with the other.

Jackie suddenly got serious. "Really, Rose. Look at 'im. Exhausted, he is. Give him a break," Jackie pleaded. "Or at least make him shave and look a little better so it doesn't look like the local bum is robbing me every time you two come over!"

"Alright. I guess he deserves it, huh?" Rose had again changed her feelings when she saw the true look of exhaustion on her husband's face.

She laid the plate of food down on the coffee table and patted her husband's hand once more. "We love you more than you'll ever know," she whispered in his ear as she snuggled up against him.

Two hours later, the Doctor popped his eyes open. "What did I miss?" He looked around the room frantically but Rose was nowhere to be found.

"Rose!" he called. "I missed it! Oh, Rassilon! Missed my own child's birth!" He gathered his things in a panic and rushed to the door, checking his watch. "It can't be time!"

"Doctor. Calm down," he heard from across the room. "I'm fine. This being pregnant thing just really messes with your bladder." Rose nodded towards the bathroom as he sighed in relief.

He walked over to her and held her in a tight hug. When he let go, he kneeled down and got level with Rose's stomach. "You and Mummy just really love scaring Daddy, don't you?" he asked, putting both hands on her tiny bump.

He soon took his hands away, laughing. "I'll take that as a yes," he chuckled, giving the bump a single kiss before getting level with Rose again.

"Where's Jackie?" The Doctor looked around the room in paranoia.

"She went to the store. I ate quite a bit so…" Rose began.

The Doctor interrupted her with his laughter. "So are you ready to go home and relax a little, then?"

"Yeah." She smiled up at him. "But first…"

"But first what? You need to rest."

"I can rest later. I talked to my mum and realized maybe I needed to take care of you for a change. First thing's first, you're getting a haircut." She grabbed his hand and led him out the door.

Once back in the TARDIS, she shaved her husband's head back into his original hairstyle and then handed him a razor and shaving cream. While he shaved, she sat opposite him, watching.

"Can't I leave a little bit?" the Doctor asked. "It'll take a while for the hair on my head to grow back, and I don't want to be completely hairless here…"

"Alright, alright." She handed him the electric shaver to do with as he pleased. "Besides," she began, rubbing his arm, "a little stubble on you is pretty sexy."

He grinned at her and began shaving again, quickly finishing the job. He looked in the mirror, seemingly pleased with the results. Rose appeared to be as well, roughly bringing him down to her level for a long, deep kiss.

When Rose broke the kiss gasping for air, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as she caught her breath against his shoulder.

He followed suit, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and hugging her against him. He could immediately feel Rose's heart start beating faster.

"We've been together for over five years and I can still do that?" he whispered.

"You've always done that." She smiled. "Now, not only does my heart beat faster when you're around, but the baby kicks like crazy." She backed away a bit so he could put his hand on her stomach. Sure enough, he felt little feet kicking around.

He backed away, grinning, putting his hands over his mouth. "That's ours. Our child," he stated in awe. He gently placed his hands back on her stomach and his face immediately lit up once more.

"Do you know how clever and beautiful and wonderful our child is already? Four months!" he exclaimed.

Rose smiled. "Got it all from Dad."

"Some of it was from Mum." He hugged her again. "I really hope our baby gets its looks from its Mum, though..." He looked down at Rose's stomach. "Please don't have big ears, please don't have big ears."

Rose laughed and hit him playfully. "I like your ears!"

"These things!" He gestured towards the side of his face. "I've been around the universe quite a bit and I've never seen ears like this! And the nose! I keep writing a letter to get my refund, but the damn thing keeps getting lost in the mail!" he joked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I like your big ears and big nose…and big hands…and big feet…sensing a pattern here, Doctor?" She suggestively looked at him and inched closer to his face.

"Are you coming onto me, Rose Tyler?" He rarely used her maiden name, but he admitted it seemed more natural to do so. "Remember, I'm a married man." He broke away from her grip and flashed his silver wedding ring at her with a grin.

"I'm a married woman." She mimicked his earlier action. "Besides, your wife isn't here right now…what she doesn't know won't hurt her." She pulled the Doctor closer.

"What about your husband?" the Doctor played along.

"Oh? That old thing?" She couldn't help but laugh a little at her own joke.

"Oi, if he's so old, then why'd you marry him?" the Doctor was stifling his own laughter.

"Life insurance," Rose said matter-of-factly before bursting into a fit of laughter.

This time, he used her full name. "Rose Marion Smith-Tyler…run!" She took off as he began to chase her around the TARDIS.

"I was wrong about you needing rest earlier! Clearly you're fine!" He stopped for just a minute to look around for her. "What you need, young lady, is a good old-fashioned spanking!"

"You'll have to find me first!" she shouted.

The Doctor looked to the main console of the TARDIS. "Well?"

"I should not interfere in this matter."

"Really? So you're on her side?"

"Completely."

"Women!" he sighed as he took off.

He eventually found her in the one place he didn't think to look: their bedroom.

He was about to jump on the bed when he noticed that Rose was fast asleep in one of his jumpers, with Oliver protectively curled up against her bump and serene music playing. He listened in on the TARDIS's thoughts.

"The music comforts her when you're not there. It makes her feel safe."

He kneeled down by the bed and kissed her cheek. "My Rose. I'm sorry I left you here alone."

He joined her in bed, curling up next to her as the music shut off. He felt the room get a bit warmer to make up for his cold nature.

"Thank you," he thought.

"Much better for my Doctor and my Rose and my baby," was the reply.

He smiled softly to himself as he fell asleep next to his wife. He had begun to make big plans, grand plans. As soon as the baby turned one year old, he would start. For the good of the family.


	14. Chapter 13

Rose woke up at four in the morning. She heard a familiar voice speaking softly in an unknown language; it was very lyrical and melodic and soothing.

"What are you doing?" she asked her husband, who was still talking nonchalantly.

"Sorry! Did I wake you? I tried to be quiet…" He seemed apologetic even in the dark.

"Yeah, actually, you did!" She was eight months pregnant and in no mood for this.

"I was just talking to the baby. We both couldn't sleep so we decided to have a conversation. Lovely little conversation, eh, Harry?" He nudged her ever-growing bump and both he and Rose felt a kick of approval.

"For the last time, you are not naming my child after Harry Potter!" she screamed.

"How about Ron then?"

"NO."

"They save the world," he reminded Rose.

"How do you even know if our baby is a boy?" she questioned.

"Just a feeling. Time Lords get these feelings…" he began.

She hit him hard on the arm. "It's still late at night! I'm tired, I'm pregnant, and you're sitting over there speaking to my baby in some weird language that I've never even heard. What was that, Swahili? A baby doesn't know Swahili!"

The Doctor calmly swallowed. "Harry does in fact know some Swahili. He's quite insulted that you think he's so daft. After all, he is a Time Lord baby, and he's the Doctor's baby, no less. Isn't that right?" he cooed at her bump.

"Doctor," she fumed. "I'm going to ask you to do something I've never asked of you before. Just promise me you'll do it?"

He nodded in the dark.

"Sleep. On. The. Couch!" she yelled through gritted teeth. The cat ran out of the room in fear and the baby kicked her hard in seeming disapproval.

"Alright." He once again directed his speech towards her bump. "'Sides, Harry and I don't have to take this, do we?"

He put his hands on her bump and nodded. "I know. I know. Believe me, I would take you with me if I could. No, she's not a crazy lady. Don't say that about your mother!" he scolded.

Rose growled. "Don't get angry with me!" the Doctor said. "Harry got your attitude." He laughed a little and then patted her bump.

"Get out. I love you but you are driving me mad!" she explained. "I need to sleep and I can't do that when you're other speaking Swedish to my baby at four in the morning!"

"Yes ma'am." With that, he gathered his things and headed towards the door. Before he left, he paused and said, "You know, that wasn't Swahili or Swedish. It was Gallifreyan. He – or she – loves to hear about their Mummy and sometimes English just doesn't do you justice." He closed the door behind him. He hadn't intended to make her feel guilty, he just wanted to explain his behavior, but Rose was certainly feeling guilty. Perhaps she had been too hard on him. She placed her hands on her bump and saw the baby's thoughts. He/she had gone to sleep, choosing to ignore the arguing. Rose could see its dreams. They were full of herself and the Doctor laughing and playing, not fighting.

She sighed. She hated to admit she was wrong. After internally debating whether or not to go find him for almost forty-five minutes, she got out of bed and wrapped herself in her robe. Funny to think that earlier that evening, she and her husband had spent hours upon hours making love and talking until she finally fell asleep. Just a few hours ago, she couldn't get enough of him, and now, she had just screamed at him. These hormones were driving her crazy.

She knew he wouldn't have actually gone to sleep on the couch when there where so many spare bedrooms in the TARDIS. She asked the TARDIS for help. A pathway lit up leading Rose to a place she admittedly hadn't been in too often: the Doctor's old bedroom.

She quietly turned the knob and found the Doctor already fast asleep, clad in only a pair of boxer shorts. She saw a tiny book open next to his bed; out of curiosity, she walked over and examined its contents. She had never seen it before; it was TARDIS blue with thick, laminated pages. A scrapbook. Inside were photos of him and Rose, way before they had ever become a couple. She sat down in a chair next to the bed and started from the first page.

"He made this all by himself," she thought.

She came across a photo of the pair on their first date to get chips. A lovely man had asked to get their picture at the shop and they had gladly obliged. The man had said they made a cute couple, a claim they both denied despite the fact that they were sitting on the same side of the booth and holding hands. She couldn't help but laugh a little when she realized that even back then they did make quite an attractive pair. She could see why everyone thought they were a couple.

Out of curiosity, she took the photo out of the book to see if it had a date on it. The TARDIS had illuminated the room ever so slightly so Rose could see without waking the Doctor up. On the back, there was a note: "April 2, 2005. London. Our first date."

There were even more photos on the pages to come, each with a little note written on the back. "December, 1869. Cardiff. She looks beautiful, for any species." She smiled at the comment.

"June, 1985. London. Her parents' wedding. Saw a little Rose developing, but I won't mention that." Rose's mouth dropped as she realized her parents had had a shotgun wedding, not that it really surprised her. She kept turning the pages. "November, 1941. Height of the London Blitz. With the pretty boy." She could see him rolling his eyes and grumbling now. "Rose looks smashing in a Union Jack, though." "June 4, 2005. Cardiff (again, unfortunately). Rose is wearing an all-too-familiar scarf and pulls it off much better than I ever did." She laughed and saw the last picture in the album. "Spring, 1969. Liverpool. Met the Beatles, wrote part of a hit song, finally told my soul mate I love her. And for some strange reason, she loves me back."

She teared up at the last one. She sat the book down and crawled into bed next to her husband as the light went out. She gently woke him up with a kiss.

"I'm sorry," she began before he could even speak. "I overreacted. You were just being a good Dad, that's all."

"I'm sorry for waking you up. I'll be quieter next time, promise." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I saw your scrapbook," she said with a smile.

His cheeks turned a shade of bright red. She sensed that, so she kissed him and said she loved it.

The embarrassment slowly faded as he comfortably laid his head on Rose's chest.

"You know, this is only the second time I've ever been in here," Rose mused. "Do you remember the first time?"

She could feel the Doctor smile. "Of course," was the reply. "Our very first night together. We had just defeated the Autons and gone to bed when you came in here and told me you had had a nightmare. So I let you sleep in here with me."

"Wanna know a secret?" Rose asked mischievously. "There was no nightmare. I hadn't even gone to sleep. I was just hoping you'd hold me."

"Rose Tyler," he laughed. "And I've been holding you ever since."

"I was also hoping for some snogging, but the holding part was good, too," she giggled, then paused. "If I had come on to you, would you have…?"

"No. Not that I didn't want to," he added. "I thought about it all night. But it wouldn't have been right. We'd just met. That would be taking advantage of you. Plus, I didn't really think I deserved you. I don't really now either, but especially not then…"

She hit him again. "Ow! You have got to stop doing that!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Well, don't say you don't deserve me! You deserve more than me, if you ask me."

"Never." The room was silent for a few moments.

"Doctor, will you talk to me in Gallifreyan? It was so beautiful."

He did as she asked and when he got done, she had tears in her eyes.

"What did that mean?" she asked.

The Doctor just smiled. "Wouldn't you like to now?" he teased.

"Really, Doctor."

"It meant: 'I am so happy that I have found you. I could never ask for a more wonderful wife. I know you will be a fantastic mother. Our baby loves you as much as I do. He, or she," he added with a smile, "can't wait to meet their Mum. We know how beautiful you are. It's all we ever talk about. We love you so much, more than you will ever know. Thank you for running.'"

He looked over to Rose, who was asleep. "I guess I am boring, eh?" he laughed. "You always miss the good parts." He smoothed Rose's hair and went to sleep in his wife's arms.


	15. Chapter 14

Today was the day. Eleven months exactly. Rose's due date. And she hadn't felt a single contraction.

"Doctor!" she called. "More spicy food! I want this baby out of me!"

"Rose…" he began. "Can't rush things, the midwife said."

"Oh, what does she know?" Rose questioned. "I'm huge!"

"Alright. But can't we at least go to the correct year and get set up in a hotel first?"

"Whatever. Maybe they have room service. I hope their cooking is as bad as yours to get some contractions started."

The Doctor ignored her (slightly true) comment, setting the TARDIS in motion for the same date in the year five billion. He immediately got them a hotel room next to the hospital and ordered every single kind of spicy food the room service menu had.

By five o'clock in the afternoon, Rose still hadn't had any contractions. "Alright, Doctor. You know what's next." She looked at him and started taking off her clothes.

"Rose…That's the last thing you need. You need to rest. A Time Lord birth isn't exactly easy. And you said no drugs, remember?"

"Piece of cake. Now…where were we?" She sat down in his lap, no easy feat in her current state.

"Rose," he groaned. "No. Get some rest."

"C'mon, it won't take that long. It's like I'm asking you to chop off a limb! You know, a regular bloke wouldn't pass up a chance to sleep with his wife, no matter how pregnant she was! Is it because I've gotten too fat? Is that it? I thought I saw you looking at the robot maid! She was much thinner…"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed, then captured Rose in a kiss.

An hour later, she was in her hospital room in considerable pain.

"He just had to touch me!" she was telling her midwife, who tossed a sympathetic glance towards the Doctor, who was sitting next to Rose, holding her hand.

"You sure you don't want any pain medication? This is the final chance. You're almost completely dilated." That was one thing they could speed along in the year five billion. When Rose had started contractions, they gave her a drug that dilated her in no time.

"No drugs."

"Rose…think about this. This baby is going to be incredibly strong," the Doctor reminded her.

"I can do it," she said stubbornly, wincing in pain.

"Alright. Let me check to see if you are completely dilated, and if so, we'll begin pushing." The midwife then checked and sure enough, Rose was ready to go.

"Okay, Rose, just like we practiced," the Doctor told her.

She nodded, then took a deep breath and pushed with all her might. She kept pushing and breathing exactly how she'd been taught. She could feel the pain intensify the more she pushed. She felt like she was literally being ripped in two. The pain kept burning and intensifying as the baby got closer and closer.

"Doctor!" she cried, squeezing his hand.

"Rose, you're doing wonderfully. Just keep thinking about the end result: the baby."

She nodded, then pushed some more.

"We have a head!" the midwife announced.

The Doctor briefly let go of Rose's hand and went to see the head crowning.

"Rose! Our baby is so beautiful!" He ran back to her side. "Keep going!"

"The head is the hardest part," the midwife reminded her.

With a scream, Rose pushed harder than she had before and the baby's head was now visible. The Doctor alternated between holding Rose's hand and watching their child being born.

After the head, things became much easier. Soon, the entire baby was visible and loudly announced its coming into the world.

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed. "For once in my life, I was wrong. It's a girl!"

Rose smiled through her exhaustion.

"Would you like to cut the cord?" the midwife asked the Doctor.

He nodded and did so. The baby was immediately swaddled into a white blanket and cleaned off, then handed off to Rose.

She gasped at the sight of her newborn baby. She had a head full of Rose's natural dark brown curls and the Doctor's piercing blue eyes. "Hello," she greeted the baby, holding her against her chest.

The Doctor looked on, beaming. He held his hand out for his daughter and she loosely wrapped her hand around his index finger.

"She is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rose commented, holding back tears. "We made that." She looked to the Doctor.

"I know," was all he could say. He was too focused on his infant daughter's every move. He watched her blink and look around the room and smile.

"Would you like to hold her?" Rose asked.

He held his arms out and picked his daughter up and rocked her and kissed her tiny face.

"I'm your Daddy," he announced. "I know, I know. You got a bum deal," he joked.

"Sorry to interrupt, but there is the afterbirth," the midwife said.

"Right," Rose remembered. "Let's go ahead with it then. Doctor, just keep the baby for now."

"Oh, I don't think I'll ever put her down." That comment was met with a smile by his daughter, who didn't seem to mind being held, particularly by him. "I love you, little Hermione." Both the baby and Rose's expressions soured at the thought of that name choice. "Alright, no more Harry Potter names," he announced, slightly upset.

The upset was quickly forgotten, however, when he sat back down by Rose's side for the afterbirth, his daughter in his arms, smiling up at him, tongue slightly sticking out.

"You got your Mum's smile I see. It looks lovely on you." He looked into her blue eyes – his blue eyes – and saw excitement and wonder.

His daughter soon started crying, though, as all babies do. "What is it?" he asked. He heard another cry. "Of course!" He immediately unwrapped her swaddling to see that his daughter had already done quite the number on it. He began searching for diapers, eventually finding some in a cabinet. In no time, his daughter was good as new, the swaddling replaced so she wouldn't get cold.

"How'd you know that?" Rose asked, having just gotten done delivering the placenta.

"I speak baby."

"Right. So what are we naming our beautiful girl?"

"Your choice. You both obviously don't appreciate my name choices," he laughed.

"Hmmmm. I was looking around on the Internet since you were so set on a Harry Potter name…" The Doctor's face lit up at her words. "I like Emmeline. It means 'industrious.' And Emmeline may have been minor, but she was a good character and a fighter and she stood up for what she believed in. You pick the middle name," she prompted.

He thought for a second. He didn't want to name her after a companion because there were too many important ones and he would never know if he made the right choice. Something from Gallifrey would be unpronounceable. He searched his brain for a name that sounded good with Emmeline and actually meant something.

"How about Emmeline Louise? Louise means 'famous warrior'. I can already tell she's going to be famous and she's going to be strong."

Rose mulled it over. "I like it. Alright, little Emmeline Louise…Smith?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Why not? Our daughter," he smiled. "Do you want her again?"

"Of course." Rose extended her arms and Emmeline laid on her chest once more. "Doctor, listen. Two heartbeats," she grinned.

The room fell silent as they both listened to their daughter's hearts beating. The silence was broken, however, when Emmeline started crying and nudged her head towards Rose's chest.

"She's hungry," the Doctor told her.

Rose's eyes grew wide with panic as she handed the baby off to the Doctor so she could take off her hospital gown just enough to uncover her breasts.

"I don't know what to do," Rose claimed with a look of fear. Conveniently, the midwife had stepped out.

"Rose, she'll figure it out. You don't have to do much." With that, the Doctor handed the baby to Rose and Rose gently placed her at one of her breasts. Emmeline's crying quickly subsided when she found her target and began sucking.

"See? Is it so bad?" the Doctor asked.

"Nah," Rose replied, smiling. "I like how close to me she is."

When the baby finished, Rose handed her to the Doctor again while she straightened her attire. When she looked up, she saw the Doctor and Emmeline staring at each other adoringly and smiling. He began to rock her and softly sing to her in Gallifreyan while she slowly fell asleep in his arms.

"Look at you two. Thick as thieves already," Rose commented. "Should I be jealous?" she asked jokingly.

"Probably," was the reply. "Me and Emma are already best friends," he grinned.

"Emma? You already have nicknames? What're you called?" Rose asked incredulously.

"I'm Dad, of course. Or Daddy, depending on what she wants," he smiled. "Say, do you know where I could find a million dollars?"

"Doctor! She's alive for an hour and you're already the biggest pushover I've ever seen!" she laughed. "'Course, you're that way with me too…" she added.

"Oi! Watch it, Rose Tyler. Me and Emma would hate to have to take her Mum down."

"I'm 'Mum'?" Rose asked with a squeal.

"Of course. Or 'food'."

"I'll take Mum, thank you."

"Oh, you know she adores you."

"I hope," Rose yawned. "Do you think I could sleep now? Having a Time Lord baby can wear a girl out."

"Yeah," he smiled. "We'll be here."

With that, Rose closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, ignoring her exhaustion and discomfort and choosing to think about her and the Doctor and little baby Emma together at last.

"Eleven months is a long time, but she was worth it," she thought with a slight smile.

She awoke to find that she had been moved to another, bigger bed so her husband could sleep next to her.

"Wonder how he managed that," she thought.

Directly next to the bed was a bassinet with their tiny daughter laying in it. Rose slid out of the Doctor's arms and sat up on the edge of the bed. She immediately felt a sharp pain in her both her back and stomach when doing so. She knew she would be sore, but she had never imagined that her muscles would ache so.

After getting somewhat used to the pain, she slowly got up and made her way to Emma. Instead of being asleep, Emma was completely awake, looking around at what she could in the dim room and smiling. She had been dressed in a pink onesie provided by the hospital, complete with a little hat to keep her head warm during the night.

"What are you doing up?" Rose cooed, scooping her daughter gently up.

Emma's only reply was to smile and stick her tongue out, a trick she had learned somewhere.

"Are you hungry?" Rose asked, hoping she might get some sort of answer.

The baby slowly realized what Rose meant and immediately grabbed for her gown with a tiny hand.

"Alright, alright. I'm going as fast as I can," Rose replied, pulling her gown down. "Here you go."

With that, Emmeline greedily ate as fast as she could, only stopping to switch sides.

"You got my appetite," Rose joked.

Emmeline eventually stopped, her eyes heavy and lips pouting. Rose covered herself back up after laying Emma back in her bassinet, halfway to sleep. By the time Rose had gotten herself sorted and on the way back to bed, she heard Emmeline start crying harshly and loudly.

"Shhh, shhh." She ran over to her daughter and picked her up comfortingly and rocked her. "What's the matter?" Rose checked her daughter's diaper, but it was clean. She offered a breast once again, but Emma turned her nose up at the sight.

"Maybe you just want to be sung to?" Rose offered. With that, she began singing "Rockabye Baby" to her daughter, but that only made her crying get shriller and louder.

"Alright, I'll stop. What do you want, baby?" Emma just looked at her mother as if the answer was so obvious, like it was right in front of Rose's face.

"Wonder where you got that from…" Rose mumbled. "Just like her father."

With the mention of the word "father", Emma stopped crying and her face lit up.

Rose's eyes grew wide with realization. "You want Daddy!"

She was met with a giggle and another smile.

Rose took Emma over to the Doctor and gently laid her stomach side down on his chest, trying not to disturb him. Emma spread her little arms out and tried to hug her father as much as she could, smiling the entire time. She turned her head and rested it against his chest as she had often felt her mother do.

Rose kissed her daughter's head. "Mummy loves you," she reminded her. She gently squeezed Emma's hand and felt a slight squeeze back. "Goodnight, my Emma."

Emmeline closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep, breathing out a little snore to match her father's much louder one. Rose settled in next to the pair as best she could without disturbing either one of them.

She managed to get her arms around the Doctor's waist without waking anyone up.

"If he were awake, he'd be hamming it up at all this attention," she thought with a laugh as she settled her head in the crook of his neck. She halfway thought about paging a nurse and getting some more pain medication, but she supposed it could wait. She didn't want to miss this.


	16. Chapter 15

"Are we all ready to go?" the Doctor asked, having spent half an hour checking and rechecking his and Rose's bags.

"Yes. Just waiting on clearance from the midwife," Rose smiled, thinking her husband was still as adorable as the day she had met him. "Isn't Daddy silly?" she asked Emmeline, who was resting in her arms.

She received a little laugh in response, a sign that she thought meant yes.

"Hand her here. 's not fair that you've had her for the past hour," the Doctor complained, reaching for his daughter. "I can't believe I ever put you down for one minute," he cooed at Emma.

They heard a knock at the door. The midwife popped her head in. "Good news, Mrs. Smith-Tyler. Both your and your baby's tests came out fine. Vitals are normal, blood work is good. Both your daughter's hearts are beating perfectly in sync, she's fully developed, no jaundice. There's just one more thing before you go."

Rose looked at her midwife expectantly.

"You need to take these." She handed Rose a bottle with four large pills. "Take them every six hours. They will reverse the effects of the past eleven months completely. No more pain or soreness, any tearing will be fixed, there is a slim to none chance of post-partum depression, and your hormones will balance out immediately in the next twenty-four hours. You'll even get back to your pre-baby weight. Quite frankly, there should be absolutely no sign that you were ever pregnant. This is basically an advanced form of nanogenes in a bottle. We can do that nowadays." She smiled and handed Rose the bottle. "Medicine and the people behind it never cease to amaze me." She turned to go, but spun around on her heels. "One more thing, actually two – you can," she coughed uncomfortably, "resume any and all sexual activity immediately after you are done with the pills. Also, you cannot breastfeed for at least twenty-four hours after you've taken the last pill. So, you may want to feed her formula or bottle some of your own breast milk before you start taking the medicine. If you want to go with breast milk and you do not have enough, the hospital can provide some for you, but we cannot guarantee it will be of human origin."

"That's alright," Rose replied, slightly creeped out. "She'll do on formula for a couple days, I think."

"Alright then, miss. Good luck to you and your family." She nodded at the Doctor and Emma. "You may check out whenever you like now, but remember, there are always other people in need of rooms."

"I think we're going now actually," Rose said. The Doctor handed Emma to Rose so he could pick up bags. They thanked the midwife and were soon on their way back to the TARDIS.

The family stopped at the door before entering. "This is your home," Rose announced to her daughter. The Doctor unlocked the door and grabbed their bags, holding the door open for his wife and daughter with his back.

"Here we are." He put the bags down on the floor as Emma darted her eyes around the TARDIS. She smiled in seeming approval.

The Doctor could hear the TARDIS's thoughts. "Is that our baby?"

"She's me and Rose's baby, but yes," the Doctor thought back in reply. He heard a low growl in response.

"Alright, I suppose she's kind of yours, too," he agreed.

"Come look at my baby's room," the TARDIS implored.

The Doctor ignored the TARDIS's pronoun usage and took Rose and Emma on the path the TARDIS illuminated.

They came to a room, the walls painted yellow with white trim. On one wall was a crib, fully equipped with a patchwork quilt covered in various shades of pink, yellow, orange, and white and a full array of stuffed animals; a mobile with little flowers hung over the crib. On the adjacent wall was a matching changing table, fully stocked with diapers and the like. The floor was hardwood, with a simple white rug in the middle, and a bookshelf full of children's books was in one corner of the room. A rocking chair was in the other corner, and off to the side, there was a neatly organized pile of toys, already opened, ready for Emma's enjoyment. The Doctor looked in Emma's closet and dresser and found a variety of pink clothes, confirming his suspicions.

"You knew," the Doctor accused.

"My baby told me what she wanted and I listened," was the TARDIS's reply.

The Doctor let it slide, seeing as how the room was technically a gift to the small family.

The Doctor looked over to Emma, still content in Rose's arms. She was looking around the room and smiling.

"I made my baby happy," the TARDIS announced. Emma was happy, indeed. She looked quite proud of what she and the TARDIS had planned together.

"You little sneak," the Doctor joked, taking Emma from Rose and resting her against his shoulder. She stuck her tongue out and smiled so her mother could see.

"Doctor, look," Rose said. "Look at what is on the dresser."

He turned to look and saw something he had missed before. In a simple wooden picture frame was a photo of Rose and the Doctor while Rose was nine months pregnant. The Doctor was leaning down and kissing Rose's bump happily while she laughed.

"My baby wanted a picture of my Doctor and my Rose to look at," the TARDIS thought.

Rose teared up at the thought. "Come here, you, two," she said, hugging both her daughter and her husband.

"I'm finally here with my girls," the Doctor smiled. "But the next one better be a boy so I won't be so outnumbered. I can see you both now, ganging up on poor ole me," he laughed.

Rose rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're not totally outnumbered. There's the cat."

"Funny." The Doctor looked at her with fake sternness.

"Don't worry about it. Clearly, Emma's already a Daddy's girl," she said, smiling.

The Doctor grinned at the thought. He had been excited when he thought their baby was a boy, but when he saw his daughter for the first time, he instantly fell in love. After roughly 910 years of time and space, he was still in awe of the fact that two people could create a whole being purely out of their love for each other. And that's exactly how it had been for him and Rose. If ever a child was born out of sheer love, it was little Emmeline Louise Smith.

Rose soon broke his train of thought, however, when she asked a question he had been dreading. "When are we gonna take her to see my mother? She's freaking out. She's mad enough that she wasn't at the birth…"

The Doctor looked at his daughter and he thought both of them were going to burst into tears at the thought. "Don't make us," he whined. "Can't we enjoy our daughter in privacy for a bit? She's not even a day old!"

"C'mon, Doctor, might as well. She'll never get off our backs until we do…" she reminded him.

"Alright," he groaned. "You know we must really love you if we're willing to do this."

"I know," Rose grinned. "Now, shift!"

Five hours later, the family burst into the TARDIS, Emma in tears.

"Your mother didn't have to call Emma chubby," the Doctor said.

"That is not why she's crying. I bet she's just hungry."

"Well, that's not what she told me…"

Rose glared at the Doctor, who had already scooped Emma up in his arms after putting her carrier down.

"Shhh, shhh. I think it's a good look on you. 'Chubby' may have been too harsh. How about 'pleasantly plump'? 'Curvy'? Marilyn Monroe was curvy. Boy, was she curvy…" he began, but stopped himself when he felt Rose's eyes burning a hole right through him. The Doctor cleared his throat. "'Pleasantly plump' it is, then."

Emma had stopped crying and was laughing a bit at the Doctor's ramblings and her mother's funny reactions.

"You better be glad Emma is in your arms or I'd slap you right here and now," Rose joked, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek.

She then took Emma from the Doctor. "I think it's time for a bath and to get ready for bed," she announced.

"Let me do that," the Doctor offered. "You deserve some relaxation."

"How about we just do it together?" Rose asked, and the Doctor nodded in agreement, knowing he wouldn't get her to change her mind.

After her bath, Emma was changed into a pair of pale pink pajamas and another little hat. The Doctor settled Emma in her crib and covered her with the quilt. He then laid the teddy bear she had been eyeing next to her. Rose looked on happily as he picked out a book from the bookshelf and began reading it to Emma.

By the time he had finished, Emma was fast asleep, snoring once again.

The Doctor and Rose tiptoed out of the room as they heard the TARDIS begin to play lullabies for their daughter to soothe her throughout the night.

"You're good at that," Rose said with a smile once they had gotten back to the main room of the TARDIS.

"Practice," the Doctor replied. "What do you want to do now, then?" He checked his watch. "It's only 7:00."

"I dunno," Rose answered. "I need to take another one of those pills I suppose. I already feel so much better." She made her way to the kitchen, the Doctor in tow, and took another pill and some pain medicine with a large glass of water.

"New Earth medicine is an amazing thing," the Doctor mused while Rose was finishing off her water. "So you feel alright then? How's the pain?"

"It's starting to slowly fade away. With the pain medication and those pills, I should be as good as new by this time tomorrow."

"I'm glad. I hate to see my Rose in any pain." He smoothed her hair.

"Emma was worth it, any day," Rose grinned. "She's so beautiful."

"Takes after her mother," the Doctor replied with a kiss to Rose's forehead.

Rose smiled, then thought for a minute. "Can you believe it, though? It just seems so unreal. We made that little person."

"Funny, I was just thinking about that. We made that beautiful little girl," the Doctor said proudly.

"She's gorgeous. And that little smile…gets me every time," Rose beamed.

"Got that from you, too," the Doctor said, wrapped his arms gently around his wife. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"Nah," she replied, following his lead and pulling him in closer. "I haven't got to kiss you all day."

"Now's your chance," the Doctor offered, bending to his wife's level so he could kiss her properly.

She immediately complied and passionately kissed her husband.

"Almost six years later and it feels just like the first kiss," the Doctor said happily, pulling Rose back in for another kiss that left her breathless.

"Are you trying to make another baby?" Rose joked.

"Don't tempt me," the Doctor retorted.

Rose was suddenly thoughtful. "Doctor, when you were joking about the next baby being a boy, were you serious?"

"Well, I mean it would be nice to have another male in the house besides the cat…what if Emma doesn't want to play catch or watch football with her Dad?"

"No, no, no. I don't care about that. I just meant in general. Us having another baby. I mean, you want to?"

"Well, I figure we already have one baby. What's one or two or three more?" the Doctor shrugged. "I came from a huge family. And I've always wanted a family with you, Rose. I just didn't think we could have one. But, now we do. So, we might as well enjoy it and do it the way we want to do it. And if both of us want more kids, then why not? You want at least one more, right?"

"Of course!" Rose exclaimed. "I've always dreamed of having a big family ever since I was a little girl. I don't want Emma to be like me, an only child with no one to play with."

"Then it's settled." The Doctor smiled at her. "But I think we should probably wait, at least until Emma is a couple weeks old…" he joked.

"Make it a couple years and it's a deal," Rose agreed. "But I'm curious. Will Emma be able to regenerate and everything?"

"I think so. She'll only be limited to twelve regenerations, just like me, though."

"And you're on your ninth, right?" They had never really talked about regeneration too much before.

"Yes."

Rose hit him playfully on the arm. "Well, don't do anything stupider than usual then! I'm not having you die on me!"

"I intend to stay in this body for quite a while," he assured her. "Then again, I don't ever exactly decide when I'm going to regenerate…" He paused. "But if I ever do, you'll know that my feelings for you and Emma won't change, right?"

Rose nodded. "I may look different and act slightly different, but I'll still be the same Doctor deep down in here." He patted his chest. "Rose, you'll still feel the same way…won't you?"

She silently nodded once more, making him sigh in relief. He didn't think he would regenerate any time soon, but he couldn't tell her the truth about what he was thinking, not yet…


End file.
